Sail With Me
by ladeste
Summary: "There can only be one King of the Pirates... and... I'm going to be there when you make it to the top." Ace had lost Sabo, but there was no way in hell he was going to lose Luffy. The journey of the Strawhat Pirate's with First Mate Ace. Female/Different Devil Fruit Luffy.
1. Cause You're All I Need (Sam Smith)

**_Hi all,_**

 ** _Just a few things to note before we start... this is a female Luffy story where Luffy has eaten the yami yami no mi (dark dark fruit). The different fruit is because it's awesome, and I wanted to explore its and Luffy's potential this way. With this in mind, Luffy and Ace are not going to find East Blue very challenging, so there won't be too much time spent on the earliest parts of the anime/manga. I'll do my best to keep the everybody in character as much as possible but there are going to be some differences mostly to work with the others changes._**

 ** _I respect that not everyone likes female Luffy/different devil fruit Luffy, but give it a go, and if you still don't like it that's fine as well. Having said that if you'd like to leave any feedback, drop me a review, I'd really appreciate it. Equally if you have any questions never hesitate to ask! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

Ace stood on the edge of the cliff. The paper of Sabo's letter crumpling in his clenched hand.

 _'Ace, Luffy,  
I hope you're both okay. I know you will be, even though I worry about you. I've decided that I can't stay here, so I'm gonna leave for the sea early. I wish we could have sailed together. It would have been fun! When we're the freest pirates on the sea, we'll find each other again!  
_ _I wonder, Ace, which of us is the bigger brother? It might be strange but our family, the bond we share, is my greatest treasure. Luffy's powers may be strong, but she's still a weak cry baby. She's our little sister though, so watch over her for me.  
_ _Sabo'_

Despite desperately trying to keep them in, the tears raced down Ace's face as he screamed in anguish. His only brother, and first real friend, had been stolen from him, and he would never get him back. Ace had never had anyone. He couldn't rely on the bandits, and Garp was away more than he was here. But he'd found Sabo, and Luffy had found them, and together they were a family. Gripping the letter to his chest Ace sunk to his knees with a silent promise. He may have lost his brother, but he would never let anything take away his sister. He couldn't lose her too.

As his sobs receded to small watery hiccups, Ace scrubbed the tears off his face and out of his eyes. Tears were for babies, and Sabo wouldn't want him to cry. Standing on slightly shaking legs, Ace turned to head back into the forest. He had to take care of Luffy.

* * *

Finding Luffy wasn't a difficult task. Predictable as ever, Luffy had run off to her favourite cliff face. Ace didn't try to mask his footsteps as he walked up beside where she was lying face down in the grass. He ignored the tendrils of darkness that flickered around her body, like they did whenever she was upset, scared or angry. Instead he punched her on the back of the head in an attempt to snap her out of it. Moving past her to stare at the sea, Ace kept his own grief out of his voice as he spoke.

"Stop crying Luffy. You're gonna lose control if you keep that up."

Luffy sniffled as she pulled Shanks' straw hat down harder on her head. Losing control meant scaring the people around her. Like when she almost hurt Makino and Shanks when she first got her powers.

Shanks' freaking out had freaked her out, causing her to slip into the 'Dark Space'. She was only there for a moment, but it was terrifying. When she came back to the bar, chairs and tables were broken all around. Shanks' crew was crowding the edges of the room, and Shanks was behind the bar, Makino pressed against the wall behind him. The 'Dark Space' was somewhere she never wanted to go again and she wasn't going to!

"I'm not going to lose control! I'm going to get stronger and stronger, and I'll learn how to use it until I never lose anyone ever again! Ace, promise me you won't leave me! Promise you won't die!"

Bonking her on the head a second time, Ace yelled at her, "I'M NOT GONNA DIE! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S MORE LIKELY TO DIE!"

Ace took a calming breath to stop himself from hitting his sister again.

He continued quietly, "I promise I won't leave you either. There can only be one King of the Pirates... and... I'm going to be there when you make it to the top."

Luffy's head snapped up to look at Ace, her eyes wide in surprise. Ace had never acknowledged that she could achieve her dream. He always claimed that she was too weak, too much of a cry baby. She knew she could do it. That she would do it. But to hear Ace say it. To hear he wanted to go with her... a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. That was like obtaining her ultimate dream.

"Sabo asked me to look after you. There's no way I'm gonna leave you on your own. Who would watch your back then?"

He paused, hoping that Luffy would realise that was he was saying was serious, "Listen Luffy, Sabo died without freedom. We're gonna make a lot of enemies, but together, no one will stop us from becoming the freest people on the sea."

Sitting up, Luffy rest her head on her knees. Tears were still dripping down her face, but she managed to reign in her Yami Yami no Mi powers that had been threatening to overflow.

"We're going to train every day until you turn 17. Then we'll finally be strong enough to set sail."

Firming his stance, Ace pressed his fists into his hips. Determination filled his body.

"Then we'll finally be pirates."

* * *

Luffy wandered quietly through the forest by herself. It was the first of January. It was the day that the darkness within Ace was at its strongest.

From what Luffy could tell there were two types of darkness within everyone. The first was the dark that represented the evil that each person harboured. For some it was only a small flicker, a bad thought, an impulse not acted upon. For others, like Bluejam, it flared like a beacon, a warning of true evil. The second type of darkness was that born from suffering and hurt. It was this type of darkness that threatened to consume Ace on the first of January, and just like every year, Ace had taken off by himself to spend the day alone in his pain.

Usually Luffy let him spend at least a few hours by himself, before she would crash into where ever he was and distract him for a while.

Today was different though.

Today Ace turned 17.

The age they'd initially agreed that they would sail out into the open sea and start their lives as pirates. Ace wasn't going. During the week leading up to his 17th, Ace had become increasingly withdrawn, causing Luffy to question her selfish desire to keep him with her.

Walking through the tree line, Luffy poured a small bottle of sake on Sabo's grave, as she did whenever she visited. Ritual completed, she sat herself down by Ace's side. The pair sat in a companionable silence, until Luffy found the courage to say what she needed to.

"You should go."

Ace turned to look at her, but she kept her eyes locked on the waves rolling towards the island.

"Oh yeah? And just who would keep you out of trouble then?"

"I don't always get into trouble!" Luffy huffed.

Raising his eyebrow at her, Ace folded his arms over his chest.

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't."

Jutting out her bottom lip, Luffy pouted, "Meanie Ace."

With a shake of his head, Ace got to his feet, offering a hand to Luffy.

"I promised I would stay with you, didn't I?" Ace asked rhetorically, "I don't break my promises."

* * *

 _ **-One year later-**_

Luffy was startled into consciousness by a punch to the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Is that how you greet your grandfather?"

Jumping to her feet Luffy glowered at Garp, "You hit me!"

Ace, who was nursing an equally sore bump, jumped to action before the old man could hit them again.

"Luffy, RUN!"

Linking his fingers through hers, the pair sped into the forest, both knowing that if they got caught before sundown, Garp would make them complete even harsher training.

"Luffy! Ace! Get back here!"

Six hours later the two teens slowed to a jog and then finally came to a halt. Ace collapsed against the base of a tree, resting whilst they could. Luffy remained standing, turning in a slow circle. Watching. Waiting. She stopped suddenly to focus on something through the trees.

"Is he coming?"

Luffy didn't answer but stared harder. There was something. A slight movement. It could just be– no.

"Run! He's almost here!"

In seconds Ace was up and they were once more running away from the crazy old man they had the misfortune of calling 'Grandpa'. They only had a few more hours to go. Twisting through the trees, Luffy took the lead, changing direction as it suited her. Left, right, right, back past Dadan's base, left, up into the trees, down, left, to the cliffs.

Bent at the waist, Ace and Luffy rested their hands on their knees as they gulped down much needed air. It was sundown. They'd done it. They'd made it.

Stretching her arms up to the sky, Luffy leant backwards, enjoying the full body stretch that pulled at her tense muscles. Finally having caught her breath, a growl rumbled from Luffy's stomach.

"Shishishi. Let's go hunt some dinner. I'm starving."

As Ace's stomach grumbled in agreement, the pair took off, this time at a much more leisurely pace, in the hopes of hunting down some much needed food.

* * *

Night had well and truly begun to fall by the time Ace and Luffy had managed to catch and cook their dinner. Luffy's eyes flicked up to scan through the trees, the firelight reflecting in her eyes as she locked onto her Grandfather's form.

Garp ambled towards the pair, just as the wild boar they'd caught was being taken off the fire. Giving his grandchildren an evaluating stare, Garp snagged a leg whilst he could. Luffy's stomach was a black hole, and Ace's appetite was not far behind. They'd done well in their training exercise today, but that wasn't why he was here. Ace had already turned 18. It was time.

"Looks like you're ready Ace. We'll sail to Marine Headquarters first thing tomorrow morning."

"WHAT?!"

"I'M NOT GOING!"

Roaring to his feet, Garp's fist of love quickly connected with Ace and Luffy's heads. Not wanting to expose Luffy, to the old man's ire, Ace stepped in front of his sister, blocking her from Garp's reach.

"I'll join when Luffy joins. Not before."

Ace wrapped one arm behind him, gripping Luffy's wrist tightly to stop her from acting out. Garp narrowed his eyes, seeing the stubborn resolve that Roger had always had, staring back at him. He was not at all happy with this development. Clearly it had been a mistake putting these two together. Ace's first impression was vital to his success in the Marines. Something Garp wouldn't be able to achieve if he was dragging the boy behind him kicking and screaming for all he was worth. With a growl, Garp conceded to the demands.

"Fine. You can have three more years. But I expect you to be twice as strong by then!"

Ace stood stoically as he waited for Garp to stomp his way back to the harbour without him. Exhaling deeply, Ace let go of Luffy's wrist.

"Na, Ace?" Luffy questioned, "I don't wanna be a marine! I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"

Ace offered Luffy a sharp grin and scooped up the boar leg that he'd discarded at Garp's pronouncement, "Guess that means I'm never going to be a marine either."

Matching Ace's grin with one of her own, Luffy chuckled freely, "Shishishi! Gramps is going to be so mad!"

At that, the two D.'s began digging into their meal once more.

* * *

"BYE!"

"SEE YA!"

Ace and Luffy waved goodbye to the small gathering that had come to see them off. The farewell party consisted mostly of the bandits, as well as a few of Fushia town's people, including Makino and the Mayor.

"GOOD LUCK ACE! GOOD LUCK LUFFY!"

The calls from the bandits carried across the water, only outdone by Makino's well wishes.

"STAY SAFE, YOU HEAR ME LUFFY?! YOU TOO ACE!"

"YES MAKINO!"

Meanwhile Mayor Woop Slap alternated between waving his cane in the air and pacing frantically.

"This is horrible. What will Garp say? Not one of them, but both of them! That's it! I'm retiring!"

Makino giggled at the Mayor's unfounded fears, and raised her hand higher as she waved goodbye to a 17 year old Luffy, and 20 year old Ace. It was the beginning of their grand adventure, and she wished nothing but the best for them.

* * *

 ** _Please let me know what you thought, I'd love to hear from you!_**


	2. Dreamer (Supertramp)

**_Based on some feedback I was given, I have gone back and edited Zoro's introduction to the crew. Zoro does join the crew fairly readily, but I hope that by giving you more insight into his thoughts, it makes sense why Zoro see's the potential in Luffy._ _Having said that, I hope you enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

Prying open a crate of apples, Luffy tossed a couple over to Ace before plonking herself down and beginning to munch away at her own apples. Finding this ship had been a spot of good luck. When their small dingy had shattered in a whirlpool, the pair had only just managed to escape. Ace was thankfully strong enough to swim both of them to safety, with Luffy unable to do little more than be the anchor Shanks claimed her to be all those years ago. Having scrambled aboard the passing ship, Ace and Luffy were quick to hunt out some food.

Now though, the two newly boat-less-pirates watched a small pink haired boy (that had briefly introduced himself as Coby) grip his hair in panic.

Taking advantage of the boy's distraction Luffy studied him, or more accurately, his darkness. He was confusing her. There was evil, and there was suffering, but the darkness that threatened to consume him was different.

"Why don't you leave her then?"

"Are you kidding!? Just the thought of her..." Coby shuddered, slumping to his knees, "Alvida's way too scary! She'd kill me! Impossible! Impossible!"

Fear.

She _had_ seen it before. Sometimes there was a small flicker in Ace, usually when she was about to do something he'd later tell her was incredibly stupid. But she had never recognised it in anyone to such an extent. The bandits certainly didn't express this level of fear, even when Gramps showed up for a surprise visit.

Coby was letting the fear consume him.

She didn't like that.

Having finished his apples, Ace held his hand up for Luffy to chuck him some more. Despite her distraction, Luffy threw more his way, her eyes not leaving Coby. Noticing her distraction, Ace frowned at Coby who was still muttering 'impossible' over and over.

"It doesn't matter if it's possible or impossible. If you don't try you're never going to get anywhere."

Luffy nodded in agreement to Ace's statement, deciding to add her own thoughts on the matter, "I'm going to become King of the Pirate's and if I die getting there then so be it. But I'm not ever going to stop trying."

Coby stared at the pair in awe. Most people would have told him to shut up, or simply hit him by now. Never had anyone offered him any kind of advice on his dream, and certainly not with this level of conviction. Clenching his fists, determination swelled in his chest. He wanted this. It was his dream, and nothing could stop him from chasing it!

"Then... then... I'm going to do it! I'm going to be a great marine!"

Thrusting one fist in the air, Coby beamed at his declaration.

 _Crack!_

Coby's strength fled almost as quickly as it had come, a high pitch shriek escaping him as the roof above them splintered and fell. Luffy shifted up onto her haunches as a fat woman, who she presumed was the basis of Coby's fear, stared down at them.

"Coby! What do you think you're doing?"

Coby curled into a ball, his body shaking in fear. He was wrong. There was no way he could do this.

Luffy grabbed Coby by the collar and motioned for Ace to follow as she launched up through the newly created hole. Luffy and Ace landed in a crouch, whilst Coby landed in a sprawl across the deck, on the opposite side of the hole to where the other female Captain was.

Without any form of introduction, the Captain pointed her heavy looking club in Coby's direction, demanding an answer to her question.

"Tell me! Who's the most beautiful woman on the sea?"

Luffy watched closely as the fear inside Coby grew and then receded slightly.

"You–" Coby choked slightly, "You're a fat old hag! Luffy is way better then you!"

As if finally realising what he's just said, Coby's fear hit an all time high. Alvida lifted her spiked club, poised to strike down the insolent little brat. Ready to crush anyone that failed to acknowledge her beauty. Alvida was prepared to deal with the competition too.

Coby quaked in his boots, his arms raising in a useless defence. This would be his end. A strong hand gripped his shoulder as he was pulled back out of the way by Ace. Through terrified fingers, Coby watched Luffy step forward.

"Luffy watch out!"

The club disappeared. Coby rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The club disappeared? Where had it gone? What had just happened? Meanwhile, Alvida floundered at the loss of her favourite weapon. Seizing on her hesitation, Luffy charged, her fist connecting to Alvida's stomach, sending her flying off the ship and into the water below.

Leaving Coby's side, Ace twisted to stand back to back with Luffy, covering her from the incoming pirates. Together the pair worked their way through the enraged pirates. Coby had never seen anything like it. When Luffy shifted left, Ace moved at the same time. If Ace dropped low, Luffy turned to deck the pirate in the face. Back and forth the pair moved in sync, never letting the oncoming pirates hit them.

It was incredible!

With the last of Alvida's pirate's lying out cold on the floor (or having run), Ace and Luffy clasped their right hands together with matching grins. The thrill of a fight, even a short lived one, sent a high rushing through their veins.

"That... That... That was incredible!" Coby exclaimed, snapping Ace and Luffy out their high.

The force of the attention that had swung his way caused Coby to wilt slightly, his hands wringing together with nerves.

Ace snorted with amusement, as he waved the young boy over.

"We should probably get you out of here."

The decision having been made, there was little reason to stick around, so Luffy, Ace and Coby loaded into one of the small supply boats and set sail.

* * *

Luffy leant against the boat's side, head back and eyes closed as she listened with half an ear to Coby yabber on about her lack of regard for the dangers of the Grand Line, and some pirate hunter named Zoro. Coby finally came to a stop as he waited for Luffy to answer him. Instead Luffy nudged Ace's foot with her own, gaining his attention.

"Can we keep him?"

Pushing his hat back from where it had covered his face, Ace quirked an eyebrow at her.

"No."

"I'm not an animal!" Coby huffed with indignation before continuing, "Besides I'm going to be a marine!"

Luffy stared at him intently. The hairs on the back of Coby's neck rose as he became increasingly unnerved by her silence.

"What?!"

Luffy hummed in thought. The fear inside him had lessened but it was still strong. The evil inside him though... that barely constituted as a speck.

"You'll be a good marine."

"I- I- I will?"

Closing her eyes again, Luffy responded, "Yeah. You're a good person."

A very confused Coby looked to Ace for some kind of clarification on what just happened. Ace didn't provide him with the answers he was looking for as he merely shrugged his shoulders with a half explanation.

"Luffy's a pretty good judge of character."

Ace tilted his hat back over his eyes as his thoughts strayed to Luffy's abilities. Describing her understanding of others as 'pretty good' was a massive understatement. Luffy's ability to judge a person's character was unparalleled. In all the time he'd known her, Ace had never seen her misjudge someone, with the exception of himself.

He didn't know what she saw when she looked at him, but he was fairly certain that when they met, Luffy had over looked the evil inside him in favour of having a friend. Any friend, regardless of how dark he was. It was the only explanation that Ace had for her lack of regard towards the black that stained his soul. Whatever the reason, he was grateful for it, for her. He just hoped that there would never come a day when Luffy looked at him and, realised that she didn't want to be near a monster like him.

* * *

Coby wanted to be a marine. Fortunately for him, the next island the trio stumbled upon had a marine base. The marine base that had in fact, managed to catch the 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro. Too nervous to go on his own, Coby was grateful that Ace and Luffy has been willing to walk him to the base, even if they wouldn't be able to go in with him for obvious reasons.

Escorting Coby was no particular hardship in Luffy's opinion, particularly as she really wanted to see this so called pirate hunter. Skirting around the front gates, Ace, Luffy and Coby, popped their heads over the marine base wall, the two former hoping to catch a glimpse of the renowned pirate hunter, despite Coby's adamant declarations that Zoro wouldn't simply be tied up in the courtyard - except that he was.

Luffy's arms leant across the top of the marine base wall, her head resting on top of her overlaid hands as she took in the scene before her. Cocking her head right, then left, Luffy decided.

"I want him."

With a sigh, Ace prayed for patience from any deity that would listen.

"Luffy, you can't just decide these things for people."

"Sure I can." Luffy stated, offering her cheeky grin to her exasperated brother.

Their conversation came to a halt as a little girl carrying a ladder, propped it against the wall beside them. Ignoring the strangers, and confident that she wouldn't be seen by the marines, the girl climbed to the top of the ladder, ready to go over the fence. Ace rapidly stopped that plan, grabbing her by the hood of her jumper.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Frantically pressing a finger to her lips, she shushed him.

"Shh! I have to take these to Zoro-san."

Lowering her back down onto the ladder so only her head was visible, Ace pointed to the sign in the courtyard.

"Yeah, no. See that sign? That means little girls shouldn't do things like breaking into a marine base to feed prisoners."

The girl in question looked up at him, puppy-dog eyes at full blast. Unfortunately for her, no one could pull off the bambi eyes quite as well as Luffy could, and if those didn't affect him 95% of the time, this girl had no chance. Ace's concern however, was quickly proven to be misdirected.

"I'll take them for you. Make sure you wave when Zoro looks over."

With that Luffy plucked the rice balls out of the girl's hands and hopped over the wall to greet her first crew member (excluding Ace). Ace's head thumped against the wall as Coby panicked.

"What is she doing? Luffy-san! What are you doing? Ace-san, what is she doing?"

Ace merely groaned in response.

* * *

Strolling up to Zoro, Luffy offered him a one handed wave.

"Yo. I'm Luffy. I'm looking for a pirate crew. Come with us?"

"No."

Luffy pouted at the flat-out refusal, but she had a feeling he'd come around.

"These are from that little girl over there."

Not looking over to where the others were, Zoro opened his mouth to accept them, failing to notice Helmeppo and his two marine bodyguards.

"What's this! Giving up already _Zor-o_?" Helmeppo asked condescendingly. Shrugging his shoulders, he smirked, "Just as well I suppose. I was going to kill you anyway. Such a shame about your pretty little friend here. Marines! Finish them."

Luffy's hat shielded her eyes from view as the marines raised their rifles in preparation, took aim, fired.

"Black hole."

Thrusting her palm out towards them, the darkness consumed the bullets leaving no trace to suggest they'd ever existed. As the darkness disappeared, the marine's eyes bulged out of their sockets. Helmeppo shook with fear. A single thought consuming his mind, _monster._

Zoro broke the tense silence that had taken over the courtyard.

"What the hell was that?!"

Grinning at him over her shoulder, Luffy's chirped response was at odds with her explanation, "My Yami Yami no mi powers. I control darkness."

Hearing her explanation, Ace lifted himself up to perch on the wall. Sparing a quick glance to the kids, Ace realised that this would probably get messy.

"Coby, you should take her home. We'll meet you back in town."

A scared Coby nodded, retreating from the fence line dragging the young girl behind him.

Pleased that they wouldn't be getting in the way, Ace dropped into the courtyard. Bypassing Luffy, Ace headed towards the prisoner.

"Hey there. Need a hand?"

Not really expecting a response, Ace pulled out his dagger and started cutting through the ropes, totally content to let Luffy handle the two marines and the other... thing.

With two punches and a well aimed kick, Luffy's task was accomplished in a matter of seconds.

Zoro rubbed his sore arms as he watched Luffy and Ace bicker between themselves about Luffy's demanding that Zoro be a part of her crew. Whilst being a pirate didn't particularly appeal to him, he owed them for setting him free. As the pair argued, neither of the pirates seemed inclined to back down as a shadow fell over them. Acting on instinct, Zoro unsheathed the dagger strapped to Ace's belt as he dashed passed him, slashing into Marine Captain Morgan's chest. The dust of the courtyard flew into the air as the tyrannical leader landed with a thud.

"Nice one Zoro!" Luffy cheered as Zoro handed Ace's dagger, hilt first, back to him.

"I already told you I'm not joining you." At Luffy's pout, and her rapidly widening puppy eyes, Zoro tried to salvage the situation, "But thanks. That bastard's had me tied up here for over a week."

Luffy's jaw dropped, all pretence of being upset flying out the window.

"A week! With no food?! Man. I would not survive that."

Ace's fists curled at the thought of anyone even _thinking_ of harming Luffy like that. In attempt to reign in his murderous thoughts, Ace directed his need for an outlet to the unconscious marine captain. Stamping down on the flat edge of the axe embedded in the marine's arm, Ace grinned as the weapon shattered beneath his boot. After all, it wouldn't do to leave the marine with the axe he'd tried to hurt his sister now would it?

Zoro meanwhile shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage having watched Ace decimate the weapon _by stepping on it_. It was rapidly occurring to Zoro that neither of these self-proclaimed pirate's were normal human beings.

"Not everyone's built with the same level of strength."

His words had meant to inform the girl that his strength was superior to her own, but thinking back to her strange powers, and her brother's own brute strength, his words no longer held the bite he'd intended them to.

"Shishishi! Of course not! I'm going to be King of the Pirates! Which is why you should come with us!"

Zoro's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to follow her round about logic, that he couldn't quite make sense of in his head. His mind continuously tripping over the blunt, matter-of-fact tone, she'd used that she would be King of the Pirates. He'd seen this type of determination before. Luffy was watching him, waiting for his reaction, and Zoro knew why. She was waiting for him to laugh at her. Or to tell her she couldn't do it, either because she was too young, or because she was a woman, or simply because it was impossible. He wouldn't laugh at another person's dream. Not when he was chasing his own dream that people sneered at. Not when it was a good dream.

Meeting Luffy's gaze, Zoro felt his resolve shift, and harden. The marine's hated his guts, a fact that was unlikely to change now that he'd attacked the base commander, and being a pirate didn't sound too bad.

"I'll join you on two conditions. First, if you get in my way from becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman I'll gut you myself."

Luffy laughed off the threat, "Shishishi. I expect nothing less."

Ace eyes narrowed on the swordsman. Nobody would be touching Luffy. Not on his watch. Moving in closer to stand by Luffy's side, Ace barely kept his words from coming out in a growl.

"And the second thing?"

"I need my katana back."

Nodding at the request, Luffy gripped Zoro's wrist with her left hand, and Ace's with her right, bouncing towards the Marine base, and dragging the two older males behind her.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

* * *

Luffy lounged in her chair, feeling fully sated after stuffing herself with food. They had found Coby not long after wandering back into town, who had officially introduced them to the little girl, Rika, and her mother. The latter had been kind enough to provide them with as much free food as they wanted.

Since settling down to eat, Coby had taken it upon himself to try and bring the pirate's up to speed on the matters of the Grand Line, with varying levels of success. Ace was listening, but didn't seem very interested, whilst Zoro seemed to be more interested in his alcohol.

"They say the second half of the Grand Line is called the New World. It's controlled by the Four Emperor's, some of the most fearsome pirates on the sea."

"Sounds like fun!"

And Luffy... well... it was hard to tell what was going on in her head at all. But at least she was sort of paying attention. Even if it was to all the wrong parts.

"Luffy! How do you not know any of this?! These people are seriously dangerous, Red Haired Shanks–"

"Shanks?! Shanks is one of the four best pirates! I didn't know he was a... a... what did you say they were called?"

"The Four Emperors."

"That is so cool!"

Ace smiled at his sister's glee, although he had to admit he was a bit shocked.

"Who knew your Shanks was such an important guy?" Ace asked rhetorically.

"You... You know him!"

"Shishishi! Yep!"

Zoro's eyes widened fractionally. If his Captain had already met such a great pirate, surely he had to be on the right path to find Mihawk. Perhaps being a pirate really wouldn't be so bad after all...

Coby slumped over the table in despair. He'd never met anyone that was as excited by the prospect of danger as Luffy was. The only thing warning her of the dangers had achieved, was increasing her anticipation to get there. Feeling he was too late to back out now, Coby mumbled the rest of the information he had.

"The others are Big Mum, Kaido, and Whitebeard. Whitebeard is said to be one of the few people alive that could match the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger."

Ace spluttered, choking on the piece of meat he'd been devouring. Zoro thumped him on the back, clearing his blocked airway so he could breathe once more. With a screech, Ace pushed his chair away as he braced his arms on the table. Gaze locked on the ground.

Luffy's head snapped towards Ace, concern etching her features, but she didn't comment. Clenching his hands into fists, Ace took several deep breaths as he fought to keep his emotions in check. Dropping back down into his chair, he angrily shoved another piece of meat into his mouth.

"I'm going to defeat this Whitebeard guy if it's the last thing I do."

After a beat, Luffy resumed eating once more and Zoro continued to finish his drink. This left Rika to fill the silence, recounting to her mother the amazing feats that they had all gone through that morning.

* * *

The bell hanging over the door chimed as marines filled the restaurant. The leader of the contingent stepped forward. He was sporting a black eye, that had possibly come from Luffy, Ace or Zoro, as they had run through the halls of the base, raiding any room they came across as they looked for Zoro's katana.

"I'm going to have to ask you pirate's to leave this town. We appreciate that you removed Captain Morgan from his post, but we can't let you stay here."

Rising to her feet, Luffy rest her hand on Ace's shoulders, smothering the growl that was rumbling in his chest.

"It's okay Ace. It's time to go anyway."

Draining the last mouthfuls of his drink, and stuffing the last pieces of food in his mouth, Zoro and Ace rose, heading out the door without a word. Luffy paused as a small hand latched onto her blue shorts.

"But that's not fair! You shouldn't have to go!"

Ruffling Rika's hair, Luffy grinned down at the upset girl.

"Be a good girl for your mother, Rika."

Gently detaching Rika's hand, Luffy headed out the door with a careless wave over her shoulder, as she jogged slightly to catch up with the Ace and Zoro.

"Take care, Coby."

The marine lieutenant startled as the young boy waved goodbye rather than going with them.

"Wait, isn't he with you?"

Luffy turned to walk backwards, an eyebrow raised. Exuding her darkness towards Coby, the young boy shrieked, falling to the ground.

"Like that scaredy-cat could be a pirate."

Coby jumped to his feet in outrage, "I'M NOT A SCAREDY-CAT! I'M GOING TO BE A MARINE!"

The marine grabbed Coby to keep him away from the black tendrils. He did _not_ want to find out what those things would do to a person.

"Cool it. It's obvious you're not together."

Luffy grinned at Coby's proclamation. Pulling the darkness back, she made him a promise.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again someday. Somewhere on the Grand Line."

* * *

 ** _A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed/faved/followed 'Sail With Me'! If you have any questions feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them._**

 ** _To my guest reviewer, Narya Anima:_**  
 ** _Thank you for reviewing! I guess it is a bit sad that Ace won't be Second Division Commander, but he get's to be First Mate to the future Pirate King, so I think the trade off works out._**

 **Chapter Edited: 25-09-16**


	3. Funhouse (Pink)

**_Please enjoy Chapter 3!_**

* * *

Luffy leant against the back of the cage she'd been thrown in, slightly amused that they thought it would keep her in, but mostly annoyed that the orange haired girl had lied to her. She'd really wanted the navigator to join them. As the boredom began to take hold, Luffy observed the circus themed pirates. She'd never been to a circus before. She remembered Sabo talking about it once. He'd seen them as they came into the town from their boat; jugglers, clowns and all kinds of animals. He didn't get to go to any of their shows though. By the looks of it, the clowns seemed to be a bit of a letdown.

"Prepare the Buggy Cannon! It's initiation time!"

The gleeful proclamation of the Captain Buggy piqued Luffy's attention. Or more precisely the fear that spiked sharply in the thief.

"Initiation? No, no, no. That's really not necessary! We should just–"

"Kill her."

Nami froze as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. The girl was a pirate, and there was nothing Nami hated more, than pirates. _'Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!_ ' the chanting of Buggy's crew washed over her as her hands began to shake, her eyes meeting those of the life she was being told to end. She hated pirates... but not enough to become a murderer of someone that hadn't done anything to her...

Luffy had remained silent as she'd watched the fear swirl inside her navigator. "You should just do it." Luffy told her as she sat upright, "I decided to bet my life on my journey. That's the pirate oath. If I die here, or if I don't, I'm never going to stop chasing my dream."

Nami remained frozen at the conviction she was being shown, even in the face of death. She couldn't kill this girl. The decision was taken out of her hands as a Buggy Pirate lost his patience with her.

"Stupid girl, bet cha don't know how to light a cannon do ya?"

Without thinking, Nami turned, striking out at the pirate. There was a silent pause as the pirates processed the betrayal.

"Get her!"

Nami stumbled backwards, closing her eyes tightly as the pirates descended on her. Inhaling sharply, she waited for the pain of being cut into a thousand pieces. The pain didn't come.

"What do you lot think you're doing ganging up on a girl?"

At the sound of the unknown voice, Nami opened her eyes slowly, surprised to find a man wielding three sheathed swords, and another man with a dagger, blocking the incoming pirates. More surprising however, was the female pirate that had also appeared between her and the Buggy Pirates.

The sword wielding pirate twisted his head back, evidently sharing her surprise at Luffy's new location.

"Uh, I didn't mean you Captain." Zoro apologised.

Zoro's apology stemmed less from his concern about offending his Captain, and more from offending her temperamental First Mate. While Zoro hadn't been with the pair long, it didn't take a genius to work out that even the slightest of triggers could set Ace off. Mainly, it was okay for Ace to call Luffy an idiot, or a moron, or dense, but it was certainly _not_ _okay_ for anyone else to do the same.

Luffy waved off the comment. Insults about her gender rarely got to her. She'd received enough teasing about it from Shanks, and then from Ace and Sabo, for anyone to say something that she hadn't already heard before.

Sidestepping the boys, Luffy placed a hand on the cannon, letting it sink into a black hole, while Ace addressed the ridiculous fraud of a pirate.

"Oi you! Big nose! That's my sister you were about to shoot."

The Buggy Pirates spluttered as Buggy himself turned an impressive shade of red.

"What did you just say about my– "

 _SNAP!_

The wooden throne splintered as Buggy slammed into it.

With a huff, Ace dusted his knuckles along his shorts glaring at the groaning pirate. No one touched Luffy on his watch. Red nosed clowns were no exception.

"Arrg!"

Ace swung around as Zoro collapsed to the ground. The sword that had been impaled in his side, glistened with his blood. The owner of the blade smirking at his perceived revenge.

"Clearly the rumours of your skill are exaggerated, Pirate Hunter Zoro."

At the challenge, Zoro unsheathed a single katana. Moving too swiftly for the gloating pirate to respond, Zoro slashed across the man's chest. The unicycle clattered to the ground. On a bent knee Zoro cleaned his sword. He wouldn't need it again today.

"Are you okay Zoro?" Luffy asked, concern floating in her eyes.

"Fine Captain. It's just a scratch."

Stuffing her hands in her pant pockets, Luffy accepted the words at face value, ignoring the flickering pain inside him. It wasn't her place to say how much or how little pain he could handle. Zoro was the only one that could do that, and unless it was going to cause him real trouble, Luffy would leave it be.

"Ow! Ace! Let go of my ear!"

Luffy squirmed, trying to free herself from Ace's fingers, only to feel them pinch harder as he pulled her back towards the deserted town.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to run off without telling me where you're going?"

"But Ace! I was looking for ghosts!"

Releasing Luffy's ear, Ace sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"There aren't any ghosts in a ghost town Luffy. It's just an expression."

So maybe he should have expected that at the mention of ghosts, Luffy would be off and running leaving himself and Zoro to tie up the boat. Not to mention dealing with the three people they'd literally fished out of the water and had then tried to attack them. They should have just thrown them back overboard, but Luffy had thought they were hilariously stupid (her words), and that there was no harm in dropping them off at the next island. Except for the fact that she'd disappeared and left him to clean up. He might have shoved one of them back in the water for slowing him down but Zoro had sworn to secrecy, and Ace wouldn't be willingly admitting that information to Luffy anytime soon either.

Luffy rubbed at her ear, scowling at Ace as he did so. He was such a meanie sometimes!

Meanwhile Nami and Zoro, trailed behind the straw hat wearing Captain, and her protective First Mate, both sharing looks of amusement as they made their way back into the 'ghost town with no ghosts' as Luffy had renamed it.

* * *

"I think I need to nap for a bit."

Luffy, Ace and Nami blinked as Zoro sat himself down on a shop front, before falling onto his back in a dead sleep. As Zoro's snores filled their silence, Nami set about pulling out the small first aid kit she carried with her to attempt to stitch up Zoro's wound. Whilst she wasn't a doctor by any means, she could do a decent patch job until they found a real doctor. Besides, it was better to do it while he was asleep and less likely to feel it.

Seeing that they wouldn't be going anywhere soon, Ace plonked himself down on the other side of the shop's veranda. He never fully appreciated the stress that was going to accompany his journeys with Luffy. Clowns, thieves, idiots... It was going to be a never ending battle.

Speaking of... Luffy hadn't stopped walking when the other's had. Instead she had continued to the next shop over, where she now stood locked in a staring match with a dog. A smile formed on her face as she sat in the dirt in front of the dog, talking to it softly.

"Hey there little guy. You're all alone huh. Hey Ace–"

"No."

"But–"

"No, Luffy."

Ace groaned despairingly as Luffy's cheerful expression melted into one of mourning. She'd always wanted a pet.

"We can barely feed ourselves. We can't feed a dog too."

...Not to mention all the other care and maintenance that having a pet required.

An old man wandered towards them, interrupting the argument Luffy was undoubtedly going to start, "Shushu wouldn't go with you even if you could take care of him. He's protecting his treasure."

Luffy listened absently to the rest of the story the man told to Ace and Nami as she tentatively started patting the small dog. He was pretty brave to stay here by himself, not giving in to the threat of the pirates hurting him or his treasure.

"He's an intelligent dog, so I think he knows that his owner's not coming back."

"He knows."

The old man, who Luffy thought said he was the mayor, paused as they all turned to watch the young girl carefully stroking Shushu's fur.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I ate the yami yami no mi."

Nami stared, completely baffled by the things this pirate said. What did that have anything to do with knowing how an animal was feeling?

"Hey! You bastards! How dare you attack Captain Buggy!"

A squeak escaped Nami's lips as a funny looking guy riding a monstrous lion prowled towards them. Luffy meanwhile spared him nothing more than an unamused glance. He wasn't even worth getting up for. Sensing her disinterest in the situation, Ace rose to his feet, squeezing Luffy's shoulder lightly as he passed her.

"Nice little kitten you got there."

The tigers in the forest back home were easily twice this lion's size. Not to mention that big cats were lazy things, and not half as challenging as bears or wolves.

"I'm going to end you all for attacking Captain Buggy!"

An animalistic grin crossed Ace's face as he strolled casually towards the lion and the idiot. Ace pounced first, launching a fist into the lions face and sending it careening into the air. The 'lion tamer' abandoned his pet as the overgrown cat lay knocked out in the dirt.

"I will avenge Ric–"

Slamming a second fist into the man's stomach, Ace pivoted on his left foot, connecting a strong kick to the unprotected head, knocking the man unconscious. Sighing, Ace meandered back to the others, addressing Luffy as he did.

"I hope we get to the Grand Line soon. It'd be nice to face an actual challenge."

The mayor's mouth hung open in disbelief. His town had been terrorised by the Buggy Pirate's for months and this kid had just swatted away one of the strongest members like he was nothing more than an annoying fly!

Luffy rubbed Shushu's ears affectionately once more before she accepted Ace's hand up from the ground.

"I'm gonna go deal with the clown."

Nami's eyes bulged at Luffy's proclamation.

"What?! Why?!"

She may have been planning to steal from him, but Nami wasn't stupid enough to think that she could take a pirate like Buggy! Nami couldn't dredge up a single good reason that would justify such a suicide attempt.

"Shushu's treasure is this shop right? And the shop's in danger as long as they're here. 'Sides there's nothing else to do til Zoro wakes up."

Nami's mouth dropped open. A dog and boredom. Luffy wanted to 'deal with' a notorious pirate for a dog, and because she didn't have anything else to do. Insane. They were all so very insane.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Ace finished the conversation silently. Tilting his head in the direction they'd come from earlier, Ace rose an eyebrow in question. Luffy shook her head in the negative. She wouldn't need Ace for this. Jutting her chin towards the Mayor and Zoro, Ace nodded in understanding. He'd take care of things here. As Luffy walked into the centre of the town, Ace halted the Mayor's attempts to follow after her.

"You don't want to do that. You'll only get in her way."

* * *

 _BOOM!_

"Oops."

Luffy winced as the Super Buggy Cannon wiped out Buggy the Clown and his annoying crew... as well as destroying a row of houses... She hadn't realised it would do that...

Turning from the ruins, Luffy left the destruction behind her as she headed back through the town. She tried not to use her powers on other people. However, for this, her powers had hardly been necessary. It had been easy enough to trap pieces of the clown as he separated, leaving him unable to reassemble. From there it had only been the simple matter of firing the cannon, and his body parts, at what was left of him. He was now a smouldering pile of body parts. Alive only because of Luffy's recent recollection of the connection he held with Shanks.

However, the fight had left her dissatisfied.

Shanks' adventure's had always been of thrilling sword fights and tough competition. She'd always thought he was messing with her when he said the East Blue was the weakest of all the seas, but that no longer seemed like the case. Thinking of the red haired Captain... Luffy opened up a black hole, smiling as her hat dropped back into her hands. The fear of Shanks's hat being damaged in the fight had been her main concern. Flipping it over in her hands, her fears were unfounded as it remained in its well loved condition. Returning it to its rightful position on her head, Luffy's attention switched to her brother as he came back into view.

"You were right, Ace. This is boring. Hopefully the Grand Line will be more fun."

* * *

Nami huffed angrily as she sorted through her single bag of treasure. The jewels were of a fairly high quality, and she would never complain about gold, but some of the beli notes had been damaged, and probably wouldn't be accepted.

Reaching further into the bag, Nami frowned as her hand came into contact with something that was neither hard enough to be gold or jewels, nor papery enough to be a wad of notes.

"A piece of fruit? Why's that in here?"

Exhaling in disappointment, the hairs on the back of Nami's neck rose as the feeling of being watched washed over her. Glancing towards the pirate's ship, she pinpointed the sleeping form of Zoro, who was carelessly slumped next to his Captain. It wasn't Luffy, who was staring out to sea. That just left...

"What are you looking at?" Nami snapped at Ace.

Shrugging off her accusing tone, Ace eyed the fruit she was holding hungrily.

"Are you going to eat that?"

"No. It looks off."

"I'll eat it if you're not going to. You shouldn't waste food you know."

"If you want to get sick, you're on your own."

Tossing the piece of fruit over to him, Nami returned her attention to the remaining treasure in her possession. She couldn't believe Luffy had given the town's people half of her treasure! Half of it!

Meanwhile, Ace took a large bite of his spoils. One thing that he had learnt early in life was never to be picky about food. Garp had only reinforced the fact in their 'training sessions', that one should always eat whatever was available, especially if you didn't know when your next meal would be coming.

"Ugh. This is disgusting."

Scrunching up his nose at the fruit, Ace brought it back to his mouth for another bite.

"Why are you eating it then?!"

"I'm hungry."

A sweat drop formed at the back of Nami's head as Ace continued to force his way through the fruit. These people were not normal.

* * *

 ** _Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to review 'Sail with Me'. I truly appreciate your feedback, and I want to do this story, and you guys justice, so I hope you can bear with me as I make these changes. I will not be abandoning this fic, I just need time to get myself back on track._**

 ** _To my guest reviewers:_**  
 ** _Yumekoi - I hope you found this chapter interesting as well! Don't worry too much about Teach, he'll work his way back into the plot later ;)_**

 ** _Too Tired - I'm really glad you like the concept, it's been fun to think about the different ways I can take this. Thank you for your constructive feedback, I appreciate that you took the time to tell me how I can improve on my writing. I'll do my best to prioritise the interactions of the crew from now on. Initially I had tacked Usopp onto the end of this chapter, but I thought better of it based on what you've said, and I'll write him up his own chapter. I hope I managed to show more of the Ace and Luffy interaction in this chapter. Thank you again for your kind words and your time to give me such amazing and helpful feedback._**

 ** _Chapter Edited: 25-09-16_**


	4. Big Man In Town (Jersey Boys)

**_For a character I wasn't going to give his own chapter, Usopp's entry to the crew kind of exploded beyond what I'd originally intended it to be. I think you guys will like this more though then if I'd tacked him on to the end of Nami's chapter like I was going to though. So please enjoy!_**

* * *

"Halt, Pirates! Don't take one step closer!"

The voice called from the cliff edge above, revealing the single figure of an overall-wearing kid leering down at the Straw Hat Pirates.

"I am Captain Usopp, of the Usopp Pirates! If you invade this island, you will face my three thousand followers."

Ace rose an eyebrow in disbelief as six flags with a non-descript skull and cross bones started waving in the air. His feelings were clearly shared by Nami, who called out the lie, "Oh yes, all three of your followers are incredibly frightening."

The shrubs rustled as three little kids popped out of their hiding places and fled from the side of the cliff, all of the boys screaming in terror at being caught. Panicked by the desertion, the one remaining villager drew his weapon, aiming it at Luffy. Ignoring the threat, Luffy stepped further up the shore a frown marring her face.

"Drawing your weapon means you put your life on the line. Piracy isn't a game. Weapons aren't for threatening people, and they aren't toys. If you draw, you fight to win."

Ace watched silently as Luffy scared the local kid, who had clearly never come across real pirates before. A smirk crossed Zoro's face as his thumb unsheathed and re-sheathed his sword, allowing the sun to glint off the blades.

The boy shook with fear, unable to keep up the pretence for long. Dropping the weapon, he followed it to the ground, landing harshly on his knees.

"You're for real then? You're actually pirates?"

* * *

Ace lounged casually in the booth in the restaurant that Usopp had lead them to. It was nice to finally be able to wash the taste of the damned fruit out of his mouth. Chewing at a relatively sedate pace, Ace speared his fork into the table as Luffy's fingers inched towards his plate.

"Order your own food."

Luffy pouted, but raised her hand to catch the attention of the waitress. Her ten empty plates neatly stacked at the edge of the table, just as Makino had taught her.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Nami reprimanded him.

Ace shot her a grin, exposing a piece of greenery in his teeth, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. With a disgusted grimace, Nami turned her attention back to Usopp's tale about the sick girl in the mansion. Ace wasn't particularly interested in listening to the island's gossip. At least half of everything Usopp was spouting was a lie, and Ace had no time for liars. Wrenching his fork out of the table, Ace finished off his plate ignoring the fact that Luffy had still managed to snag one of his sausages.

* * *

Luffy walked beside the three little boys with a bounce in her step, listening happily as they chatted about the princess-like Kaya. She could still recall some of Gramps' bedtime stories about princesses living alone in big castles from before her time living with the bandits...

" _Hey Grandpa, will you tell me a story?"_

 _Garp set himself down on the edge of her bed as he stroked his grey streaked beard._

" _Hmm... I suppose one story wouldn't hurt."_

 _Luffy listened with rapt attention as her grandfather wove a tale about a lonely princess who had lost her parents._

" _...and then one day, the princess decided to leave, she wanted to travel the world, and sail the many seas. So she left, and decided to join the Marines! Through hard training, she moved up the ranks, to become a strong young woman, who could defeat any foe."_

 _Grandpa's stories tended to revert back to including the marines, and whilst he wasn't the best story teller, Luffy appreciated his efforts._

" _Do you think I could be like her?"_

" _A princess?"_

" _No, strong. So strong that no one could ever beat me!"_

" _It'll take hard work, and lots of training, but maybe one day."_

 _Garp's hand brushed her raven locks out of her face as sleep rapidly consumed her, his fading voice in her ears._

" _Sleep well, my little princess."_

Luffy may have traded in tales of princesses for pirates, but the childish spark of fantastical people and places had never truly died. Although Kaya was apparently too sick to go on an adventure, Luffy supposed she could see the resemblance to Gramps' stories.

Tamanegi fiddled with his glasses with one hand as he tugged on Luffy's red vest with his other, as he indicated away from the path they'd been walking on, to the side of the large estate.

"The butler has guards stationed at the gates, so we'll have to go around if you want to see Kaya."

The four older pirates shared glances over the younger boys' heads. Why did a young woman need guards in a town like this? Luffy shrugged in acceptance, and allowed the three boys to tug her towards the side fence.

"The Captain has a secret entrance somewhere, but we can never find it." Ninjin informed her morosely.

Luffy patted the beanie clad boy on the head as she strode towards the wrought iron bars. Splaying her hands out against the cool metal, Luffy released the darkness, allowing it to consume enough bars for them to fit through. Closing the black hole, and pulling her hands back, Luffy tucked them into the pockets of her cut off jeans.

"Oh look! An entrance!"

The Usopp Pirate's blinked at the newly formed hole, their minds slowly ticking over to register what they'd just seen. In unison their attention switched to Luffy, lights shining in their eyes, almost sparkling at her in amazement.

With a wink, Luffy stepped through the empty space.

* * *

"So what do you say? Can you help us out?"

"Absolutely not."

The unfamiliar voice stole everyone's attention, as Kaya released a sad sigh. Luffy's eyes hardened, her body shifting closer to Ace. Like Ace dumping a bucket of water over her head, an ice cold warning rushed down her back, forcing her to suppress a shiver.

"Who the hell are you?"

"How vulgar! I am Klahadore, Miss Kaya's personal butler and all of _you_ are trespassers!"

He appeared sophisticated with his carefully selected words, his immaculate presentation... however appearances were deceiving. The evil that he concealed beneath his tailored suit may fool many, but it couldn't shield his darkness from her. Taking a step back, Luffy's hand stretched behind her to press against Ace's stomach. Gently pushing him backwards, Ace took the hint and took his own step back.

"Guess we won't be getting a boat after all. Zoro, Nami, let's go."

Nami watched the childlike captain with confusion. Only moments ago she'd been care free, not at all bothered by the fact that they were breaking into someone's property. Now, in a complete 180 degree change of mind, she wanted to leave.

Backing out of the garden, Luffy's eyes didn't leave the butler as she addressed Kaya one last time.

"It was nice meeting you Kaya. I hope you get better soon."

"I – thank you." Kaya paused as she watched the four pirates remove themselves from her property. "Usopp-san, you and the boys should probably go as well."

"Usopp... Yes, I've heard a lot about you. The bastard son of a filthy pirate. You need to leave and never come back."

The long-nosed boy shook with rage at the slurs aimed at his heritage. He was in no way ashamed of his father, or that his father chose the call of the sea. Sometimes it hurt though. That his father hadn't been there when he needed him, that he didn't have anything more than faint childhood memories, and stories from his mother to remember him by.

"My father is a brave warrior of the sea, and I am proud to be the son of a pirate."

Kaya leant over the window ledge, well aware of the pain of losing one's parents, "Usopp-san."

Turning his back on the butler, Usopp let Kaya's voice calm him. "It's okay though. I won't be back. Ever."

* * *

"Pirates! Pirates are coming! At dawn! They're going to attack the village!"

Usopp's breathing was ragged, his shoulders heaving as he stopped in the centre of town.

Nothing happened.

No doors opened.

No screams, no panic, no fear.

Nothing.

"Oi, oi!"

Running up to one of the village elders, Usopp waved his hands as he tried to grab his attention.

"Pirates! I saw them! They're coming here!"

The old man sighed tiredly as he turned away from the young lad, "That's enough boy."

"But it's the truth! Klahadore is really the Pirate Kuro! He said so himself!"

It was a shame, the village elder thought, just how strongly, Usopp's mother's death had impacted on the boy, but enough was enough. To make up such a horrible lie!

"Stop this nonsense! Klahadore is an upstanding citizen. Unlike yourself! Go home. We've had enough of your lies."

The villagers that had been peering through their windows let their curtains fall shut. Usopp gritted his teeth. Nobody was listening! Taking off in a run, Usopp speed away blindly, tears blurring his vision.

* * *

"Captain Usopp! What's going on?!"

Usopp ground to a halt at the call of Piiman, the boys little wooden sword being drawn from his sash as he readied himself to vanquish any of his Captain's foes.

"It's Klahadore! He's the pirate Kuro! He's going to attack the village and kill Kaya!"

The wooden sword cluttered to the ground.

"What?! We have to warn the villagers!"

Usopp's face morphed further into despair. How could he tell them? How could he crush the dreams of his three tiny followers? The town's people would never believe him, and they would never believe the three boys, because he'd allowed them to be included in his lying reputation. He choked on the words he didn't want them to know... _'No one believes me'_.

"They wouldn't listen to me."

The boys wore matching faces of shock at the declaration from their Captain. Their resolve hardening, they thrust their fists into the air with determination, Piiman scooping up his sword as they did.

"The Usopp Pirates will just have to warn them again!"

"Yeah!"

Without a word more, the three charged towards the village, ready to do whatever it took to warn their friends and families. The older group watched in silence as they disappeared from view.

"I believe you."

Usopp's head snapped towards Luffy, her legs swinging carelessly back and forth from her spot on the fence.

"You– You do?"

"Sure. Why else would you be so frightened?"

Panic momentarily forgotten, Usopp's hands flew into the air, completely offended.

"I'm not frightened by the pirates! This is my town! I have to protect it."

Ace snorted as he took in Usopp's shaking knees, the knobbly bones clanging together so loudly that he almost winced at the thought of the bruising that would undoubtedly show up later.

"You're scared. We hardly need Luffy's powers to work that one out."

Ace's tone was harsh, but he wasn't saying anything that wasn't true. The town's people may have pandered to Usopp's lies, but Ace wasn't going to placate him by encouraging lies. Growing up with the bandits and Garp, there had only ever been brutal honesty. When Luffy arrived that hadn't changed. Hell, as a child, Luffy had been blunter than their bow staffs.

The truth could be dangerous and it could hurt, and no amount of lies could change that.

"You should let them come." Ace said.

"WHAT?!" Usopp screeched.

Zoro butted into the conversation, not hesitating to wind Usopp into a further state of panic, "Let them come. You said you're not afraid, and the villagers don't believe you, so let them come."

Ace grinned at Zoro while Usopp flailed in his panic. Unbeknownst to the boys, their teasing had not gone completely unnoticed.

Nami slid off the railing they'd been sitting on to join Luffy standing behind the boys.

 _Thunk. Boink._

"Ouch! Luffy!"

"What the hell woman!"

Ace and Zoro rubbed their bruised heads as Luffy and Nami stared down at them, matching frowns and folded arms presenting a formidable image. Scrubbing at his head one last time, Ace reluctantly pushed to his feet, putting his hands up in a show of surrender.

"Okay. Okay. We'll go find the butler. Jeez."

Reaching his hands up above his head, Ace stretched out his back, groaning with satisfaction as a ripple of pops sounded.

"Which shore did you say?"

"Ahh... Their meeting was at the south shore!"

"You have no idea do you?" Nami cut in, "They could be arriving at the north shore, where our boats are! Where my treasure is!" Nami's voice finished in a shrill panic, as images of her treasure being taken from her filled her mind.

Luffy frowned at Nami's realisation. Whilst she didn't particularly care about the boats, or the treasure, it wouldn't be good if they ended up on the wrong side of the island.

"We'll have to split up."

Nami's hand was the first to shoot into the air.

"I'll take the north shore!"

Accepting Nami's desire to be at the northern end of the island, Luffy finished organising the groups, "Usopp, you and Zoro will go with Nami. Ace and I will watch the southern shore."

Ace grinned at Luffy's transparency. Even though Zoro could hold his own, it would make more sense for the two of them to split up, being the stronger (and currently uninjured) fighters. But splitting up meant that he had a fifty-fifty chance of being at the right shore, whilst Luffy would potentially miss out on having some fun.

Noting Nami's concern at not having either of them going with her, Ace finished off Luffy's plan.

"If they aren't in sight by daybreak we'll assume that they've arrived at the opposite shore and head over."

* * *

"They're here! I'll go warn the others!"

Usopp's plan was short lived as Nami slapped him on the upside of his head, pushing him into the dirt.

"No way! You have to fight!"

"But I'm such a weak individual."

Zoro took a deep breath as he stepped past the squabbling pair, both trying to outdo the other with how scared they were. Why did he get dumped with these two?

"You two are useless. I'll handle it. Just make sure you catch any strays."

Untying his bandana from his arm, Zoro tied it around his head. Deftly pushing his katana out of their sheaths, he charged against the incoming onslaught.

Nami and Usopp watched in awe as Zoro knocked back the wave of pirates, the pair launching into a series of cheers as it became apparent that Zoro didn't need their help.

"Woo! Go Zoro!"

"Yay Zoro! Knock 'em down!"

The Black Cat Pirates rolled on the ground, mewling with the pain from their injuries. Jango's hands flew to his head in disbelief. This was bad. This was very, very, bad. They were already behind schedule because he'd slept in. If they didn't get to the village soon... No. They'd get there. He'd just have to use their trump card.

"Nyaban brothers! Come on out! You're up!"

Zoro shifted his grip on his blades as two shadowed figures appeared from the depths of the ship. These guys were getting seriously annoying.

* * *

Perched on the side of the cliff, Ace and Luffy's eyes roamed over the horizon. The sun was up, and the enemy pirates hadn't arrived on their shore.

"Bugger." Luffy all but pouted. She'd wanted to get first dibs.

Ace nodded at the sentiment, "We'd better hurry or Zoro will have all the fun."

Spinning on their heels, the brother and sister pair dashed towards the northern shore.

* * *

"You can't even follow the simplest of instructions, Jango."

The sudden interruption sparked the cat obsessed brothers to scuttle back to their crew. No one liked to be in the firing line when the Captain was angry. Three days or three years, it was never worth tempting fate when it came to Captain Kuro's ability to be several steps ahead.

Zoro took the opportunity to regain his breath as the battlefield came to a pause. Nami and Usopp had been doing a decent enough job of picking off the strays that had managed to slip past him as he occupied the two weirdo cat-men, but they had not remained completely unscathed. Usopp's goggles were cracked, blood smeared down one side of his face, whilst Nami had shallow cuts peppering her arms and legs.

"Captain Kuro! We were just on our way in! You didn't have to come all this way to check on us!" Jango stammered from the shoreline.

At the arrival of the Black Cat Pirate's Captain, Zoro hoped that his own Captain and First Mate were not far off.

* * *

Zoro's foot slid backwards to support his weight, catching Kuro's ten swords against his own three blades. Luffy and Ace were still missing, Usopp was out, having caught a blow from behind, and Nami was barely keeping out of the reach of the Nyaban brother's claws. The situation was anything from ideal.

As the man in front of him moved out of sight once more, Zoro spun on his heal, catching the blow on his side. The momentum from his movements toppled him to the ground, his swords immediately coming up to brace against the next blow.

"My, my. You are determined. For what I wonder? It's not like you know anyone here. You don't owe them any favours, and yet you continue this foolish notion, why?"

Zoro grunted as Kuro leant more of his weight on his swords.

"Won't. Let you. Stop Usopp. Captain's orders."

"Admirable. Or of course it would be if it wasn't interfering with my plans. I will kill Kaya and that deluded liar, along with the rest of this sorry lot. I'm afraid you've just become an unintended addition to my death toll."

The jaws of the Black Cat Pirate's fell open at their Captain's declaration. There was no denying that by 'sorry lot' he meant them. He'd called them that many a time before, but to kill them? Surely he wouldn't really?

"But Captain!"

"Captain Kuro, you can't!"

"We can still–"

Their cries were cut off by Kuro's snarling voice.

"I had no intention of letting any of you live, you idiots!"

* * *

Luffy took in the scene in front of her with blank eyes, the enemy Captain's words ringing through her mind.

"Usopp is a far greater pirate, a far greater Captain, than you could ever hope to be."

Kuro growled at the arrival of more of the inconvenient brats. Separating himself from his downed opponent, Kuro pushed his glasses up with the heel of his hand.

"Stupid girl. You're just a child playing pretend, and frankly, I don't have time to deal with this nonsense."

Glaring at Kuro, Luffy cracked her knuckles one by one.

"Zoro?"

"Yeah Captain? Zoro panted out as he pushed up onto his feet.

"Switch."

Zoro hesitated at the order. Kuro may not have been very skilled with traditional sword work, but he was still a swordsman. Zoro didn't really want to let this one go. He could finish this guy now that he wasn't being distracted by being the only fighter.

"You can take the weirdos."

Realising that he wasn't being given an option, Zoro offered a curt nod. Though it pained almost all of his instincts, Zoro twisted away from his opponent, moving down the slope towards the cat brothers he'd been playing with earlier.

As Luffy reorganised that battlefield to her liking, Ace zeroed in on the remaining weirdo. Sliding down the side of the cliff, Ace landed in a crouch. Dusting the sand off his hands, he sauntered across the beach. It was too bad that Gramps had taught them not to play with their food. This wouldn't take long.

* * *

Kuro watched the young girl stalk towards him. He hadn't factored into his plans anyone helping the lying, long-nosed trouble maker. It was a situation he would have to rectify if his three years of demeaning labour were going to come to anything. Shifting side to side, Kuro prepared for his ultimate attack. This had gone on long enough.

Luffy rolled to the left as she felt rather than saw the claw handed man breeze past her. The screamed cries of the Black Cat Pirate's filled the beach as they were brought back to their knees, this time by their own Captain.

Zoro jumped away from the Nyaban brothers as claw marks gouged into the side of the cliff and the skinnier brother.

"Sham!"

With the pair no longer interested in fighting him, Zoro brought his swords up defensively. This damn Kuro was fast. His throbbing side a strong reminder not to let his guard down.

Luffy could barely compute what she was seeing. It was one thing to hear him say that he didn't care about his nakama, but it was another altogether to watch him take their lives. This was NOT what it meant to be a Pirate Captain. Luffy saw red.

Catching his oncoming movement, Luffy connected her fist with his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. Sweeping his legs out from under him with her sandal clad foot, Kuro fell to the ground, his head connecting with the ground with a sickening crack.

Luffy stood tall over Kuro's stunned form, his glasses shattered, blood trickling from his mouth and the back of his head. Stretching her arm into the air, Luffy snatched Ace's dagger from the air as he tossed it over to her, Ace's own opponent lying unconscious at his feet. Glaring down at the defeated man, Luffy crouched beside his head.

"You could never understand what it means to be a pirate."

* * *

Luffy watched the stars from the rear deck of the _Going Merry_. The gentle crash of the waves on her side was the only sound filling the night.

Ace walked slowly towards her, his hand trailing along the wooden railing as he went. They'd lucked out that Kaya had not only owned a boat, but one that she'd been willing to give them. Merry was their first real ship. He just had one problem with the situation.

Sliding down the wall, Ace joined Luffy watching the sky. They sat together quietly until Ace broke the silence.

"Are you okay?"

Luffy eyes didn't leave the sky as she answered, "He wasn't the first..."

"...And he won't be the last." Ace finished for her.

Wrapping his left arm around her shoulders, Ace tugged her closer to his side. If Luffy didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't press the issue. He was here for her if she needed him. Their path was never going to be smooth sailing. It was inevitable that sooner or later they'd take another's life, be they marine or pirate. Their lives had always been dictated by the bandit's 'kill or be killed' motto, but this was the path they had chosen. Their fight for freedom would be messy, of that Ace had no doubt.

The pair continued to sit in silence. Ace's hand skimmed through Luffy's short cropped hair, the repetitive motion lulling her away from her dark thoughts.

"What is it?" Luffy asked.

"Mmm?"

"Something's bothering you."

"It's nothing that can't wait till morning." Ace deterred.

Luffy's eyes roamed along the stars, judging their position in the sky. Finding what she was looking for, Luffy forced her reluctant body away from Ace's warmth so that she could face him, his arm sliding off her shoulder as she moved.

"Morning's not that far away."

Ace sighed at the knowledge that whilst he might not press her to share, he wasn't going to be given the same consideration.

"He's going to be a liability, Luffy. I know he's got a good eye for sharp shooting, but he's a coward and a liar. Nami's not brave, but she's smart. Usopp could put the entire crew in danger."

Luffy didn't answer straight away, trying to find the words that would help Ace understand. Intertwining their fingers, just like Ace did to make sure he didn't lose her when they were running through the forest, Luffy began by conceding to his point, "He's not brave, and he can't fight very well... but he lies to protect himself. It helps him forget his suffering. He's going to be the best sniper in the world, and a brave warrior of the sea... He just needs a little bit of help getting there."

Luffy shifted back beside Ace, her head resting on his shoulder as she waited for his thoughts.

"How do you know?"

"Yasopp's his dad."

Ah. Ace felt the pieces fall into place as he begun to see what Luffy had seen all along. A mother he wasn't able to save, with a great pirate for a father, one that had failed to stop the death of his mother. Their situations weren't the same, and they certainly didn't handle them the same way, but there were enough parallels. It also didn't hurt that Usopp's father was one of Shanks' nakama.

Luffy eyes slid closed as Ace relaxed with understanding. Ace was doing his best to look after her, sometimes he just needed to be reminded that this was her crew. She could take care of herself and them, all of them, if need be.

"He's still a liar." Ace grumbled softly.

The corners of her lips twitched, but she refrained from saying anything, instead she shifted closer to his side. He'd come around eventually.

* * *

 ** _Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, faved and/or followed 'Sail With Me'._**

 ** _Just a quick note for people wishing to leave anonymous/guest reviews, I love hearing from you, but please know that I can't get back to you in regards to questions about how long a chapter will take if you aren't logged in. I try to respond to all of my reviewers as quickly as possible, so if you'd like to get a faster response please login first._**

 ** _Having said that... To my Guest Reviewers:_**

 ** _Guest 1: Thank you for your review. I can't guarantee how long the future chapters will be, but I hope this chapter was closer to what you were after. Thank you as well for your feedback, I'll keep it in mind as I continue writing!_**

 ** _Guest 2: Enjoy chapter 4!_**

 ** _Guest 3: Thank you and enjoy!_**

 ** _Mr Turtle: All shall be revealed soon..._**

 ** _Luffys wife: Thank you, and yes, there is more to come!_**


	5. Don't Let Me be Misunderstood (Animals)

**_Hey guys, I'm sorry this has taken so long, I've had a fair bit of stuff going on at home, most of it not so good, so I haven't had much time, or the desire to write, but here! Have a chapter! (We were supposed to skip to Sanji but my mind rebelled)._**

 ** _I've had a couple of people ask about Luffy and Ace's relationship so I thought that I'd clear that up here:  
This is most likely going to end up as a AceLu fic, but it's probably going to be slow getting there. At the moment Luffy is focused on finding her crew and having adventures, romance isn't really at the forefront of her mind. And whilst Ace is definitely more focused on Luffy, at this point its more along the lines of keeping her out of too much trouble. _**

* * *

Nami yawned, her arms stretching out wide as she shook the last of the nights' sleep away and made her way out onto the grass deck. Ace and Luffy were missing, presumably sleeping in, having turned in for the night later than she had the previous evening. She'd passed Usopp on his way to the shower earlier, but the person she was looking for was already up and exercising. Nami raised her eyebrow as she heard his muttered counting,

"605... 606... 607..."

If his count was anything to go by, Zoro must have been doing push-ups since the sun had come up. Suspending her disbelief for now, Nami made her way towards him, plonking herself down close enough that even as thick headed as he was, he'd get the hint. Zoro did get the hint. Reorganising his hands to shift into a plank position so that he could pause his training, whilst not actually stopping, Zoro tried to get the inevitable over and done with.

"What do you want, witch?"

Nami released an indignant humph, turning her head away from the sweaty swordsman as she tried her best to act nonchalant.

"So that butler, pirate guy, Kuro or whatever, Luffy killed him."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. Was the witch still caught up on that? That had been almost a week ago.

"Doesn't that bother you?!"

"Not really." Zoro shrugged as best he could in his position, "We're pirates. There's going to be bloodshed, and yeah, sometimes people are going to die. We've just got to make sure that it's _them_ not _us_ that do the dying."

" _You're_ a pirate. I'm a thief. You honestly don't have a problem with what Luffy did?"

Realising that she wasn't going to go away until she'd got what she wanted, Zoro tucked his knees up under his chest before pushing back to sit upright.

"It's bothering you."

"She killed him!"

"And the butler was innocent? Look. In most cases I'd agree. I'm not interested in taking out someone's life unless I have to, but the butler? He would have decimated those towns' people if we hadn't stepped in. It's not like she killed all of them. She let the other ones go."

"I agree with Zoro."

Nami and Zoro startled out of their conversation, neither having heard Usopp come and join them, his curly hair still hanging damp from his shower.

"Luffy did the village a favour and most of them don't even know it." Usopp's hands clenched as flashes of what could have happened to his village raced through his mind, "Luffy was terrifying, but kind of amazing at the same time. I don't regret not doing anything to stop Luffy."

He'd regained consciousness just before Luffy had sliced the dagger across Kuro's throat, in time to see the blood splatter up along her arms. He'd never witnessed anything like it, and it _had_ terrified him, but at the time, all he could think was 'good'. Meeting Nami's eyes for the first time since he'd stepped out on the deck, Usopp caught a glimpse of wavering resolution almost ready to be tipped over.

"What if that had been your home town? With everyone you knew and cared about in it. Everyone just going about their business, not realising that they're sitting ducks..."

Nami's spine stiffened as Usopp trailed off. She could understand. She didn't even have to imagine. Every day, she fought, and she stole, for her home town. There was nothing she wouldn't do, even... but it was different. It was. She wasn't like them. She wasn't a pirate.

The silence above deck was broken by shuffling sounds from down below.

"Luffy and Ace are up."

Zoro pushed himself to his feet, looking forward to breakfast after all the gushy, caring and morality business that he'd been forced to endure.

Latching onto the change in conversation, Nami stood as well, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face, "We'd better go supervise breakfast, otherwise there won't be any food left by the time those two are done."

* * *

Luffy flopped across Ace's legs, pitifully trying to garner his attention as he filled in the logbook he'd been keeping of their travels.

"I'm hungry."

"Hello Hungry, I'm Ace."

Luffy pouted as she rolled off him to stare up at the sparse number of clouds in the sky, Ace was never any fun when he was busy. She was hungry and she was bored. Possibly more bored then she was hungry, but they were too close for her to tell. For all Shanks had talked of daring adventures, he'd failed to mention the weeks of boredom that intercepted each adventure. She wanted to _do_ something.

"Ace... I'm bored."

"Hello Bored, I thought your name was Hungry."

Flinging her arms over her face, Luffy groaned. Ace was the worst.

Nami sighed exasperatedly as she watched the raven haired girl grumble over her want of food. Breakfast had passed only a scare few hours earlier with its normal happenings; flying food, talking with full mouths, choking not swallowing, and generally disgusting manners, and yet Luffy was already calling for more food. Anyone would think they were starving her, when in reality she and Ace easily out ate everyone else on board. It seemed to be a constant cycle with the young straw hat wearing captain. She'd eat, get bored, annoy someone until it was time to eat again, and then repeat.

"Hey Luffy! Come have a look at this!"

Luffy shot to her feet at Usopp's call, bounding across the deck at the prospect of a distraction. As she rushed passed, Nami couldn't help but exhale with relief. She'd tried to entertain the teen yesterday and it hadn't ended well for a number of her maps, one of which she was currently redrawing to be free of ink stains.

"If she gets to be too much you can just tell her to leave you alone."

Nami blinked at Ace in surprise. She hadn't realised that Luffy could actually be told 'no'. It just seemed to be a missing part of her vocabulary.

"Does that actually work?"

Ace scratched the top his head with the end of his pen as his eyes quickly darted to where Luffy and Usopp were fawning over a canon.

"She'll pout, and probably whine for a bit, but she'll go bother someone else if you're really busy."

"I'll have to remember that."

Ace nodded absently as he continued to jot notes down in his logbook. Not much had happened in the past few days, but it was still important to keep a log. Luffy wasn't interested in recording what they'd done, too busy focusing on what was happening in he present, but it was something that Garp had drummed into him and he couldn't seem to forget. He'd also promised to tell Makino all about their adventures once they'd conquered the seas, and a logbook would be handy to cover the details and early adventures that Luffy would no doubt gloss over when she started.

BOOM!

Ace leapt to his feet, his logbook discarded on the deck. His body was taunt, prepared to face who ever tried to attack them. Even Zoro had stirred from his nap, one blade unsheathed and ready to go.

"Woot! Alright! That was awesome! Again, again!"

Ace's shoulders slumped and his heart rate slowed as Luffy's jubilant exclamations carried across the _Going Merry._ Reaching down to collect his leather bound book, Ace smoothed the bent pages, before placing it down on the table Nami was working at. It might be possible to ignore Luffy for a while, but it was usually safer not to.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me."

Zoro winced at the statement as he stood beside an irritated Ace on the upper level of Merry. Nami and Usopp crowding behind them to see what all the commotion was about. Luffy was down on the level below, her hands on her hips as she stared at the bounty hunter that she had laid flat out on the deck.

"He's an old acquaintance." Zoro muttered.

Making his way down Merry's stairs, Zoro tried to get a handle on what was going on.

"What are you doing here Johnny? Where's Yosaku? I thought you guys always hunted together."

As Zoro approached, he found his lower half encompassed by Johnny, the distraught man crying into his green haramaki. Zoro grimaced at the emotional display. Really? What was with everyone thinking that he was the right person to deal with this type of shit?

"Johnny?" Zoro probed through gritted teeth.

"It's Yosaku! He's dying! And, and, I was trying to take care of him and, and the rock we were on exploded!"

Luffy paled as the dots connected in her head.

"I am so sorry."

"S'alright. You didn't know." Johnny waved off.

The truth was that Yosaku was fading. Whilst their rock exploding hadn't helped the situation, neither had anything else he'd done to try and stop Yosaku's worsening condition. Luffy sent Ace a panicked plea, silently asking him to fix the situation she had unknowingly created. Rubbing his hand across his face, Ace made his way down the stairs to join the others, Nami and Ussop following behind him.

"Where is he? We might be able to do something for him."

With a speed Zoro didn't know Johnny possessed, Zoro found himself released, and a worn down Yosaku being dragged aboard _._

Ace stepped closer to examine the wounds. They certainly didn't look good. Yosaku's skin was an off shade of yellowy-brown and cuts that looked to have already healed, were splitting and reopening. Nami edged closer to get a better look.

"Show me his teeth."

Johnny blinked vacantly at Nami's request, lost as to why the orange haired woman would be interested in his partner's teeth when there were clearly bigger problems to worry about.

"Just do it."

Peeling back Yosaku's lips, Johnny hissed at the swollen red gums, a number of teeth loose and misaligned from where they normally sat.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Nami held up a hand to halt the oncoming protests so she could continue, "He has scurvy."

Ace's eyes lit up with recognition. Scurvy was never a disease he and Luffy had needed to worry about on the island, always having access to an abundance of fresh fruits and meat, but it was something that Sabo had taught them about for when they were supposed to head out to sea.

"We have limes in the pantry. Usopp–"

"On it!"

Usopp sprung into action, disappearing into the galley and retuning a moment later, triumphantly carrying a handful of limes. Plucking one of the small green fruits from Usopp's hands, Ace cut through the flesh, halving the lime and passing it over to Johnny.

"He'll need to drink as much of the juice as he can."

Luffy skulked around the group tending to Yosaku, leaving a large berth between herself and the sobbing, juice squeezing Johnny, as she sidled up next to Nami.

"Will he be okay?"

Despite her earlier reservations about the Captain's ethical standards, Nami could see the distress Luffy was unsuccessfully trying to hide. The nervous fiddling with her straw hat was a telling sign. Whilst Nami was still trying to comprehend the strange force of nature that made up Luffy, Nami knew her initial assessment was wrong. Luffy wasn't a cold blooded killer. A killer, perhaps, but she didn't thirst for blood like the pirate's she knew, didn't relish in the suffering of others like... Shaking herself, Nami offered Luffy a reassuring smile.

"He should be fine. It will take a couple of days–"

Nami was interrupted as Yosaku bolted upright, his hands thrust high into the air.

"Woo! I feel amazing!"

Slapping her open palm, to her forehead, Nami growled in frustration.

"Lie down! It doesn't work that fast!"

"Shishishi. You two are funny."

Happier that Yosaku seemed to be out of the woods, Luffy bounced on her toes, expending the energy she'd built up from standing around for too long.

"Johnny" Johnny reintroduced unnecessarily "and Yosaku" Yosaku introduced himself, also unnecessarily, "At your service." They finished together.

The pair concluded their extravagant introduction with a sweeping bow. Ace shook his head at the antics, not at all surprised when Yosaku toppled over onto the ground, still suffering from the nausea that often accompanied scurvy.

"Idiots." Nami reaffirmed. "The sea is a dangerous place. A healthy diet is vital. You _have_ to know stuff like this or you'll end up dead."

Usopp and Zoro nodded along to Nami's statements seriously, despite neither having had any clue about the information they'd been taught before today. Tapping his forefinger against his chin, Usopp puzzled over Nami's words. He raised his finger to tap the side of his nose as an idea struck.

"We need a sea-chef."

"Yes!" Luffy cheered.

Any way to gain more food, and potentially better food, was an idea Luffy could get behind. Her thoughts were already filling with meat laden dishes, rich soups and sweet desserts. Her mouth began watering at the mere thought. She was hungry. Zoro grinned at Luffy's contagious joy. It would certainly be handy to have someone who knew what they were doing in the kitchen, rather than continuing to experience the hodgepodge attempts that they hazardously thrown together so far. Zoro's grin faltered slightly as he noticed the minor issue with their new plan.

"Where are we going to find a sea-chef though?"

Johnny thrust his hand in the air like a child who knew the answer to the teacher's question, however unlike the child waiting its turn, Johnny supplied the information he knew without waiting to be called upon.

"There's a floating restaurant in these parts. It's rumoured to have some of the best and fiercest chefs on the sea!"

If Luffy's mouth had been watering before, it was positively salivating now, her eyes sparkling with unbridled excitement.

"Ace?"

Ace smirked at Luffy's expression. With her mind so solidly set, Ace didn't need to hear the words to know exactly what Luffy wanted.

"We'd best go find this restaurant then."

* * *

 ** _Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read 'Sail With Me', I hope you've enjoyed it so far, and an extra big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved and/or followed, your support is what keeps me going._**

 ** _To my guest reviewers:_**

 ** _N Harmonic - Never fear. Just because I'm messing with the timeline, and well lets be honest, almost everything really, doesn't mean we won't get to see our darling Whitebeard Pirates. They'll just be playing a different role is all. Thank you for all of your kind words._**

 ** _A fan - Thank you! The reveal of Ace's fruit is coming I promise! Not to worry about the accounts, I hope that you join us on Fanfic, but if you don't, feel free to stop by any time._**

 ** _Nina - Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that! I try to write about plot twists that I haven't seen before so it's nice to know that you haven't seen anything else quite the same as well! Ace's fruit will definitely be making an appearance next chapter. Hopefully the AN. at the beginning answered your Ace/Luffy question, but if you have anymore feel free to ask._**

 ** _Guest - Sorry there was no Sanji in this chapter, he was meant to be, but the Strawhat's decided to pick up Johnny and Yosaku instead. Thank you!_**

 ** _Luffy's wife - Aw thank you. I'm sorry that I've kept you waiting._**


	6. Another Day (Angus & Julia Stone)

**_This chapter has put me through hell and back trying to get it to you. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the next instalment of 'Sail With Me'._**

* * *

The water lapped up the side of Merry's hull as the Straw Hat's docked alongside the floating restaurant, the Baratie. Luffy bounced on her toes, excited at the prospect of having a professionally made meal. Her excitement didn't dim, even as a large ship engulfed Merry in shade.

Usopp's body quaked in his boots, his hand vibrating violently as he pointed at the flag rippling in the breeze.

"Ma-Ma-Marines!"

Falling to the ground, Usopp scuttled backwards, bumping into Ace's leg as he made his hasty retreat. Tilting his head up, Usopp chuckled nervously as Ace stared down at him, a single eyebrow raised. Leaping to his feet, Usopp folded his arms across his chest, his chin lifted to mimic Ace's stance. The newly christened Straw Hat Pirate's watched in silence as a marine headed towards the ships side to stare down at them.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

The marine paused as his gaze flicked upwards towards the straw hat-wearing Jolly Roger that graced the _Going Merry's_ flag and sail.

"Upstart pirates." The disgust in his voice, leaked onto his face, the marine's nose scrunching up as if he'd been forced to smell something unpleasant.

"I'm Lieutenant Fullbody," Fullbody introduced himself, stalling for time as he scanned the stupid faces looking up at him, his motion halting on two vaguely familiar faces, "Wait a minute… I know you two. You're those small time bounty hunters. Been caught by pirates have you?"

Johnny and Yosaku snarled at Fullbody. Small time? Them? No one got away with disrespecting them. In sync the pair launched at the marine vessel, their weapons drawn and ready.

"Ack!"

"Ugh!"

Ace released the back of Yosaku's and Johnny's coats that he'd managed to snag in his grip, leaving the bounty hunters to slump to the floor. Rubbing their necks neither bothered to collect up their pile of bounty posters, too busy trying to soothe their lungs' cry for oxygen.

Snorting at the scene, Fullbody sneered down at the small collection of pirates, and their bounty hunter companions.

"Huh. Clearly some of you have some sense after all. I'll tell you what–"

Luffy's attention was wrenched away from Fullbody by a violent spike of fear in her peripheral vision. Zoning in on Nami's crouched form gripping a bounty poster, Luffy dropped to one knee beside her.

"Nami? What is it? What's wrong?"

Fullbody's eyes narrowed at the female pirates ignoring him. Nobody ignored him, and certainly not pirate scum. Cutting off his generous offer to leave the pirates alone, Fullbody gave a thumbs-down to his crew signalling his order, "Sink them."

Head snapping up, Luffy launched herself away from Nami and up onto Merry's railing, her fingers splayed out in front of her.

"Black hole."

The ammunition disappeared into the swirling black vortex, leaving the Lieutenant and his crew staring, gobsmacked at the failed shot.

"Wha–!?"

A frown marred Luffy's face, her shoulders tense as her left fist clenched by her side. The cannonball could have done some serious damage to Merry. Hurting Merry was _not_ okay.

"People don't change do they Lu? Always chucking stuff away." Ace leant his elbows on the railing beside Luffy's feet, his head resting on his intertwined fingers as he continued, "So wasteful."

Luffy hummed her agreement. Tilting her head, she stared down the lieutenant who had issued the order.

"You can have it back."

Fullbody took a step back, panic bleeding onto his face. Of all the pirates that sailed the East Blue, it just had to be his luck that he stumbled across the one group that had a devil fruit user on board.

"No, no, it's okay, you can keep it." He back-peddled desperately.

"Lu-Luffy?" Nami called shakily, breaking the straw hat wearer from her intense gaze, "Weren't we going to go have lunch? I thought you were starving."

The reminder sparked a growl from Luffy's stomach, her free hand pressing against her vest covered skin in response to the noise. Closing the black hole with a wave of her other hand, Luffy dropped softly onto the deck.

"I am starving."

Usopp, eager to continue Nami's self-appointed task of diffusing the situation, ran with the change of topic.

"Oi, oi! Me too! I'm so hungry I could eat a whole elephant! I bet the meat here will be amazing, although nothing could be as tasty as the time I–"

As Luffy turned her back on the marine's, Fullbody glared at his subordinate manning the canon.

"What are you waiting for?! Sink them!"

Despite his fear of the pirate's bizarre power, the seaman recruit feared the repercussions of not following his orders more. He lit the cannon.

Spinning on her heel, Luffy threw up her black hole capturing the second cannonball millimetres from impacting with Merry. Not going to be dissuaded again, Luffy reopened the black hole above the marine vessel, releasing the cannonballs to the fate of gravity.

Not waiting for Luffy's orders, Ace launched himself over Merry's railing and aboard the marine ship, colliding with the lieutenant and pinning him to the ground.

"Big mistake."

The cannonballs smashed through the lower deck with a resounding _boom_.

Ace flinched as splintered wood sprayed through the air around them. As the dust settled, Ace pulled his right fist back to his shoulder, ready to take the marine out. A female's scream stopped his fist short of connecting Fullbody's face.

Fullbody released a pitiful whimper as Ace pressed his weight down harder, pinning him to the ground. Glancing at the woman dressed in a long gown and expensive jewellery, Ace quickly classified her as a civilian. Civilians were a grey area for the D.'s. Whilst they didn't see the point of harming someone unable to defend themselves, they were more than aware that civilians could be some of the worst of human kind. Flicking his head over his shoulder, Ace sought out Luffy's instructions. A slight shake of her head was enough for Ace to let his fist drop. Turning back to the cocky marine, Ace bared his teeth as he laid down what was going to happen.

"You're going to leave, and you're going to leave now. If you so much as _twitch_ in the wrong direction I will tear you, and this ship, apart. Plank by plank. Understood?"

Fullbody nodded frantically, wheezing as Ace's knee dug deeper into his chest. Whoever these kids were they weren't messing around.

Seeing Fullbody wasn't going to try anything, Ace switched his attention back to the woman, his tone taking on a lighter lit, "Sorry Ma'am, but it looks like you'll have to reschedule your date."

The woman grasped the door frame tightly, giving only a shaky nod in understanding. Her mother had warned her about dating marines... She should have known better than to get caught up by a smooth talking poser.

"Y–yes. I think I'd better be getting home."

Gripping the lapels of Full Body's suit, Ace jerked the marine once more, making sure his point had definitely hit home. Satisfied at the cowered response, Ace released his prey. Jumping back aboard Merry, Ace waited for the damaged marine ship to pull away and out to the open waters, before slinging an arm over Luffy's shoulder and guiding her towards the restaurant.

"So, lunch?"

* * *

"Ah Mademoiselle! Welcome to the Baratie. I'm Sanji, assistant head chef. May I have the honour of knowing such a beauties name?"

Stepping forward, Sanji reached for the young woman's hand, his lips puckered in preparation to kiss her knuckles. The looming figure that had been by her side cut off his motions. The cowboy hat wearing man pressing his hand against Sanji's chest, keeping him at arm's length.

"Whoa there. Not so close."

Sanji's flirtatious grin dropped, his eyes losing their love sick puppy look, cooling into a dispassionate stare as he took in the raven haired male.

"And you are?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Ace brought himself to his full height.

"Ace. This is my _sister_ , Luffy."

The blond's eyebrow twitched as took a closer look at what he would be up against. He could probably take him, even though the six-pack exposed through Ace's unbuttoned shirt indicated that it wouldn't be easy. Worse case scenario there was always the pretty orange haired woman standing at the back of the group.

"Well? Are you going to seat us or not?"

Spying Zeff walking down the stairs, Sanji conceded the battle, not the war… besides, it would do to upset the mademoiselle by injuring her brother.

"Customers are required to have their shirts buttoned at all times." Sanji answered with a sniff, before turning towards an empty table.

Ace grumbled at the chef, but started buttoning up his yellow shirt. It looked ridiculous buttoned up, but Luffy would never let him hear the end of it if she was stopped from eating because he wouldn't do up his shirt. Not wanting the chef to pick on any other part of his appearance, Ace tipped his hat off his head, leaving it tied around his neck by its string.

"Hats off inside Luffy."

Following her brothers lead, Luffy knocked her hat back without question, too excited about the prospect of food, as she bounded behind the chef.

* * *

A commotion across the room cut off Usopp, the last of the Straw Hat's that needed to order what they wanted for lunch.

"Didn't you hear me? Get me some food."

Sanji turned away from the group at the desperate demand for food. His fingers flexing around his pencil and notebook as he watched the sickly man threaten Patty with a gun. The pencil in Sanji's grasp snapped as Patty destroyed the table and knocked the man to the floor.

Hoisting the man up by the front of his jacket, Patty dragged the man towards the door, throwing him out as one of the other chefs held it open for him. Dusting off his hands, Patty bowed to the cheering crowd of patrons that had enjoyed watching him taking out the trash.

The Straw Hat's watched the scene in silence, none of them joining in on the acclamations. Twisting on his heel, Sanji turned back to the table of pirates.

"Excuse me. I have another order to take. I'll put your order in at the kitchen."

Storming towards the kitchen, Sanji ignored Usopp's token protests that he hadn't ordered yet.

Watching Sanji slip though the kitchen doors, Luffy plucked half of the splintered pencil off the table, twirling it between her fingers as the doors swung shut behind him. Flicking the piece of pencil at Ace, Luffy tucked her legs up under her to crouch on her seat.

"I want him."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Zoro chuckled at the routine back and forth argument that sprang up between his Captain and First Mate.

"Is there really any point fighting it Ace? You know Luffy's just going to invite him anyway."

Luffy lit up at the support from Zoro, offering the swordsman a wide smile in thanks. Springing off her seat, Luffy left the others to wait for their meals, eager to hunt down their newest nakama.

"I'm going to go find him."

As Luffy slipped through the back door that she'd seen the chef disappear through, Ace rose to his feet, pushing back his chair as he did.

Tilting his head to the side, Usopp looked at Ace quizzically, "You're really going to try and stop Luffy?"

Ace's eyes softened with exasperated fondness at the mention of Luffy's stubbornness, "No. Zoro's right, Luffy will definitely ask him to come with us. I'm going to talk to the owner and make sure he knows that he's going to end up one chef down."

* * *

Luffy wandered out onto the deck of the floating restaurant, her gaze sweeping over the area as she sought out the chef she wanted. A lopsided grin graced her face as she located him on the lower deck with the pirate that had tried, unsuccessfully, to get food earlier. Jumping down to their level, Luffy sat on the railing as she watched the pirate shovel the food into his mouth. Her own mouth watering as he did so. It smelt so good...

"Hey Chef, join my crew!"

Sanji startled at the proclamation. He'd noticed another figure walking around them but he hadn't really been paying attention, instead focusing on the starving Gin. Recognising Luffy, Sanji seized his chance whilst the young woman's brother was absent.

"Ah, Mademoiselle! Such a lovely young lady, a pirate?"

Surely he'd misheard? She was such a slight young woman, her delicate features marred only by a small scare under her left eye. He had to be mistaken.

"Shishishi! Yep! We're heading to the Grand Line! You're coming with us."

To be sought after! Asked after! By a lady! Sanji thought he good die now and be happy... almost. The hearts that been dancing in his eyes retreated morosely as his brain slowly took the reins from his heart.

"I'm afraid I have to decline. Maybe one day, but for now, I can't go with you."

Luffy's gaze softened as the black of his suffering flickered more strongly as his thoughts wandered. Gin interrupted the silence, his voice trembling with fear, "You don't want to go to the Grand Line. You're still young. Listen to my advice girlie, the Grand Line is not– it's not–"

"It's not what?" Luffy asked with genuine curiosity.

"Just give up. There's no hope for you to survive out there."

Straightening her back, Luffy shook her head fervently, "No way. I'm going to be King of the Pirates! There's no way I'd give up! That's why you're going to come with us, right Chef?"

Luffy offered Sanji a cheeky grin causing hearts to resume throbbing in his eyes.

No one would tell her what she could and couldn't do. No one could say what she was or wasn't capable of. She'd already gathered the beginnings of her crew that would one day outstrip the Red Haired Pirates, and when her chef joined them, she'd be one step closer.

* * *

The restaurant's owner and Head Chef, Zeff, accompanied Ace out onto the upper deck and into the sea air.

"Once Luffy's set her mind on something she won't let it go." Ace explained, before muttering under his breath, "Unfortunately."

"And she wants my shitty assistant?" Zeff clarified, an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

The pair paused, leaning on the railing to watch the scene unfolding below. The Krieg Pirate was sailing off, in what appeared to be one of the restaurant's supply boats, as Sanji tossed the evidence of the free meal overboard. Once finished with his task, Sanji returned his doting attention back to Luffy, not bothering to watch the boat disappear from view.

Grimacing at the obvious intentions aimed at Luffy, Ace let it be for now. _Only_ because he knew the guy's flirting would go straight over Luffy's head. At least there were some benefits to Luffy's single mindedness.

"Yeah. She won't leave without him."

Stroking his plaited moustache, Zeff contemplated what would need to be done to get the shitty brat off his restaurant and on to chasing their long held dream.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

 ** _Thank you so much to everyone that has supported me so far in this adventure. I know it's been slow coming but I'm not giving it up!_**


	7. Bleeding Out (Imagine Dragons)

_**-One day later-**_

"Luffy?"

"Yes, Ace."

"King of the Pirates right?"

"Uh-huh."

"How you going to do that if we stay here forever?"

"It's only been a day, Ace. It won't be forever."

 _ **-Two days later-**_

"Luffy."

"Ace."

"We're not leaving till we have him are we?"

"Nope."

"Damn."

 _ **-Three days later-**_

"You wanna go eat?"

"Have we been asked to pay yet?"

Ace shrugged, offering his hand down to Luffy who was sprawled over the deck.

"I figured that they were planning on charging us when we left."

Accepting Ace's hand, Luffy let herself be pulled to her feet, she was always eager for food.

"Let's eat."

* * *

"Johnny? Yosaku? Have you guys had lunch yet?" Nami asked, hoping aboard the Straw Hat's ship.

"Nah Nami-sis, we're watching the ship for Zoro-bro and the others."

Johnny nodded his agreement to Yosaku before adding his own affirmation, "We'll eat later."

Nami's eyebrow twitched at the familiarity Yosaku had addressed her with. Telling either of them to stop calling her 'sis' had proved useless though.

"You must be hungry. I've already eaten, so I'll stay and watch the ship. The others won't mind."

"Really!?" Johnny's eyes lit up at the prospect of getting lunch. The food at the Baratie was excellent, and far better than anything he and Yosaku ate when they were on their own.

"Thanks Nami-sis you're the best!" Yosaku cheered.

Watching the bounty hunting duo rush into the floating restaurant to have lunch, Nami counted down from ten silently, making sure that the pair didn't double back. Hitting zero, Nami sighed in relief as she hurried to untie the ropes holding the _Going Merry_ to the side of the Baratie. Navigating a ship of this size by herself was going to be a challenge, but she'd manage the short distance. She had to get back. She'd spent too much time getting caught up in these pirate's shenanigans.

A twinge of sadness pulled Nami's lips down in a frown as she steered the _Going Merry_ towards Arlong Park. They were a bunch of rowdy, noisy, weird, trouble-finding, idiots… but for pirate's… they weren't so bad. Shaking the head to clear away the guilt creeping into her mind, Nami fixed her thoughts on what lay ahead.

She'd made it this far without them. She didn't need them. She could do this on her own.

* * *

Luffy lounged in her chair, her foot bouncing subconsciously as she and Ace waited for their food. Zoro and Usopp sat with them, the pair having ordered and received their meal. The sweet, orange-glazed fish that Usopp was eating smelt tantalizingly good, and Luffy really wished she was sitting close enough to swipe some. Zoro, having learnt Luffy and Ace's habit of wandering fingers, had defensively set up his arm across the table, blocking Luffy from his own lunch.

BANG.

The entrance door was flung back against the wall. Luffy straightened in her seat but didn't stand as a number of the other guests did.

"Isn't that the guy that Sanji fed the day we arrived?"

Luffy nodded, confirming Ace's question. In the doorway stood Gin, still looking worse for wear, and supporting a hulking figure. As Gin manoeuvred them across the threshold, the man slumped to the ground, his head bowed as he brokenly called for food.

"I. I need. Food. Anything."

Sanji casually strode past the Straw Hat's table, a steaming dish meant for another patron in his hand. Weaving past a chef trying to stop him, Sanji made it to the broken man unhindered, placing the plate on the ground beside him. Stepping back, Sanji ignored the angry protests from Patty as he stormed towards him, neither noticing Zeff slipping into the kitchen.

"What do you think you're doing?! We aren't a charity! We're a restaurant! Restaurants serve paying customers!"

Shooting Patty a bone chilling glare, Sanji blocked his path to the pirate who was shovelling the food into his mouth with both hands, tears of relief flowing down his face.

"You don't get it. You can't possibly understand what it's like to be so hungry that you'd rather be dead. It's a chef's responsibility to ensure that _no one, ever_ , has to feel that way."

Patty clasped his hands together beneath his chin as Sanji finished speaking. A forced pleasant smile stretching across his face.

"Ah, Sanji. So sweet, so caring, so kind."

Patty's fist connected with Sanji's chin as he launched a surprise attack on the younger chef, flinging him towards the other chefs, ready to keep him away from the inevitable removal of the pirate. Lifting the man to his feet by the lapels of his jacket, Patty's insincere smile once again graced his face.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Do you know who I am? I'm Don Krieg! The strongest man on the seas!"

"Oh yes. Very scary. You know who you aren't? A paying customer!"

Drawing back his right fist Patty smashed Krieg through the doors that had swung shut, the wood splintering as Krieg thumped against the decks outer railings.

Luffy, who had been watching the unfolding drama with mild interest, tilted her head in confusion. The pulsating pain from Don Krieg's hunger had been genuine, the constant throbbing easing with every mouthful Krieg had eaten. And yet, Patty's punch hadn't caused so much as a flicker of pain in the self-proclaimed 'strongest man on the seas'. Luffy didn't have to wait long for an explanation as Krieg rose to his feet, his coat slipping apart to reveal gold plated armour.

Ace let out a low whistle of appreciation as Luffy's eyes sparkled, "Ooo! So much gold! Nami would be jealous!" Pausing to glance around the room, Luffy's eyebrows furrowed as she failed to locate her navigator, "Huh. I wonder where she..."

Luffy didn't finish her sentence as she flipped the table onto its side, dropping to the ground as bullets sprayed through the air where their heads had just been. Now that was just plain dangerous!

"If the rest of you don't want to be killed, then do as I say! Bring my men–"

"Food."

A hushed silence fell over the room as everyone stared at the bag of food that had been offered to the fiercest pirate of the East Blue. The silence didn't last, as the chef's shouted over one another.

"Zeff! What are you doing?!"

"Sir! How could you?!"

Zeff ignored the cries, his gaze intent of the weak-willed man before him. The Grand Line was not a playground for all. It took a special kind of person to enter that sea and make it. A man that relied on fancy weapons and masses of sacrificial crew to send to the slaughter was not one of them.

"Did you not find the Grand Line to your liking, beaten warrior of the sea?"

Krieg inhaled sharply as he realised just who was addressing him.

"You're Red Leg Zeff."

Luffy's eyes flickered to meet Ace's, hoping he would know more about what was going on. Ace answered with a one shoulder shrug, offering her his hand as he stood up amongst the destroyed furniture. He was just as confused with the whole situation as she was. During their silent exchange, the pair missed what was being said, until Krieg made an error in his speech of personal greatness, pulling Luffy's selective hearing into focus.

"I am going to rule the seas and all men will bow down to me."

"No way! Nobody's going to be Pirate King except me."

The room fell into a hushed silence as Krieg's head rotated to find the source of the voice. Krieg snorted as he took in Luffy's visage. Small, scrawny, and wearing a stupid straw hat. She wouldn't stand a chance.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that, since you don't know any better but–"

Folding her arms across her chest, Luffy cut him off.

"Don't bother. I will be King of the Pirates."

Ace stepped forward to stand closer to her side. Zoro grinned at the scene, pulling one katana loose as he leant on the backrest on his still standing chair. Following Zoro's lead, Usopp squared his shoulders, his fingers grazing his trusty slingshot. All three ready and waiting for the command of their Captain.

"Give it up kid. You haven't got a hope in hell."

Not waiting for a reply, Krieg swept up the bag of food, marching back to his damaged vessel and weakened men. This food would change their fortunes. His men would recover and they would return straight to the Grand Line. He would conquer the sea no matter the cost.

Gin shifted his weight from foot to foot, but he didn't follow after his Captain. He didn't mean for this to happen. He may have been denied food by the other chef, but Sanji had fed him, saved him, and this is what he had to offer in return?

"Sanji, I am so sorry."

Lighting a cigarette, Sanji took a deep drag, his visible eye falling shut. Tilting his head upwards, he released a stream of smoke into the air, his eye slowly reopening and a grin forming on his face.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm going to let them take the restaurant. If they want it, they're going to have to _fight_ for it, because there's no way in hell I'm going to let them take the Geezer's treasure."

Zeff shook his head, his lips pulled up in a strained, but amused smile as Sanji's speech ignited a fire in the other chef's. No, they wouldn't be going down without a fight.

"The Eggplant's right. You don't need to apologise. It's a chef's duty to feed the starving. If he hadn't fed you, I would have."

Gin's gaze dropped, his right arm wrapping around himself, fingers digging into his left shoulder in an attempt to stop them from shaking. He couldn't believe these people. Did they not understand? Did they not get it? They wouldn't be shown any mercy, not from Krieg. He'd slaughter all of them.

"Nah, Gin?" Luffy called, pulling Gin from his increasingly frantic thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You didn't say you'd been to the Grand Line."

A shudder ran through Gin's body at Luffy's comment. She was so young. So naive. He had to tell her. Even if the chef's decided to stay, there was no reason for the other pirate's to stay. They could get out of here. Continue sailing the East Blue. Just as long as he could get her to give up going to the Grand Line.

"We were there. For seven days we sailed that sea, and even now I don't know what was real, and what was just nightmares in my head. Fifty ships. We went in with fifty ships, hundreds of men, and we were destroyed by one man."

"What?!" The rooms occupants exclaimed in unison, their hands flying into the air with shock and disbelief. Zeff remained steady, his arms folded against his chest.

"Eyes like a hawk, he sank our ships one by one. The only reason we got away was because a storm swept us apart. He– He would have destroyed us all if we hadn't got away."

Gin sunk to the floor, his hands shifting to clutch at his head as the memories and nightmares blurred. The starvation having compounded his disorientation to what was real and what was in his mind.

Zoro's eyes widened at Gin's description. Eyes like a hawk. Hawkeyes. Dracule Mihawk. The man he'd been searching for, the one that he needed to defeat to achieve his dream, to reach Kuina's dream.

"Who?"

"The man I've been searching for. The World's Greatest Swordsman." Zoro answered Luffy. "Getting to the Grand Line means getting one step closer to achieving my dream."

A spark of excitement flashed in Luffy's eyes. The Grand Line was sounding more and more appealing each time she learnt something new about it. The spark dimmed slightly as Sanji cut across the conversation.

"You really think you can take on someone who destroyed fifty ships?" Sanji shook his head, his attention on Ace as the one he perceived to be responsible for the small group of pirates, "You're all idiots for wanting to rush to your deaths."

Ace shrugged at the accusation. His attachment to life wasn't particularly strong. The son of the devil. He didn't really deserve the life he'd been given. The life his mother had given her own for. But he'd promised to take care of Luffy, to help her reach her dreams. They would conquer the Grand Line. Luffy would become King.

"Maybe we are. But it's better to die trying than to not have tried at all."

* * *

The Baratie chefs tightened their grips on their giant kitchen knives and forks as Don Krieg's booming call to charge was followed by an onslaught of battle cries. Luffy blinked in confusion as the heated yells where replaced with yelps of fear. Through the open doors the chefs and pirates watched in astounded terror as Krieg's ship was sliced into three pieces. Luffy's jaw dropped, Ace's own mouth hung open beside her.

"No way." Luffy whispered.

Breaking out of his revere at Luffy's words, Ace's eyes widened in panic, "Shit! Nami and Merry are out there!"

Ignoring the frenzy that the chefs had descended into, Luffy rushed out of the restaurant, the others hot on her heals.

"They're not here!"

Usopp screeched to a halt on Luffy's left, his eyes scanning the horizon. "There! Do you think she's trying to get Merry to safety?"

Ace didn't comment, but silently disagreed. Nami was a thief. It was more likely that she'd done a runner.

Luffy cocked her head noncommittedly. She couldn't answer Usopp's question. Instead she posed a question of her own, "Where would she be going?"

"I don't know boss, but she was staring at a poster of Arlong earlier. We told her he was bad news, but she seemed pretty focused on it." Johnny offered as Yosaku continued for him, "If she's looking for him, she'll be heading to Arlong Park."

A crash sounded behind the Straw Hats, their heads snapping towards the sound. Luffy was pulled from her thoughts as Zoro stiffened beside her, "That's him. That's Hawkeyes. The World's Greatest Swordsman."

Thumbing his katana, Zoro took half a step forward as he drank in the sight of his goal. He'd never been this close. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away. Pulling his gaze away from Hawkeyes, Zoro looked at his Captain, determination flooding his voice, "You said you wouldn't get in my way."

Nodding at the memory of Zoro's conditions of joining the crew, Luffy gave her orders, "Johnny, Yosaku, you guys still have your boat right? You, Usopp and A–"

"Not a chance." Ace cut across Luffy, "There is no way I'm leaving you behind."

As Luffy and Ace's conversation shifted to a non-verbal mix of slight body movements and staring each other down, Zoro strode past them towards Hawkeye's ship that was pulling up alongside a floating fragment of what used to be Krieg's galleon. Zoro's hand trailed along the wood that had been cleaved clean in half. He'd never seen anything like it. To cut through a ship of this size, so cleanly and efficiently, he hadn't ever thought that it could be done. Zoro didn't hear the outraged words shouted by the Krieg Pirates, his focus locked solely onto Hawkeye's deflection of their bullets along the tip of his sword. Pausing behind a group of Krieg Pirate's blocking his path, Zoro commented before his mind fully caught up that he was talking.

"I've never seen a sword used so gracefully."

Instead of being offended as the Krieg Pirates expected Hawkeyes would be, the swordsman sheathed his sword as he offered an even reply.

"No sword is strong without grace."

The Krieg Pirate's scuttled out of his way as they finally recognised Zoro as the East Blue 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro. Perspiration prickled along Zoro's brow as he began to fully comprehend what he was up against. Untying his bandana from his arm, Zoro kept his tone conversational as he prepared himself, "I've been searching for you."

"Indeed? Tell me, what do you aim for?"

A devilish smirk spread across Zoro's face as he tightened his bandana behind his head, "To be the best. You said you were bored right?" Zoro question, tilting his katana in challenge.

Standing, Mihawk smirked as the sun gleamed across the well cared for blade. He had been bored. It wouldn't hurt to spend a few minutes more in East Blue. He had nothing better to do.

* * *

Krieg rotated his shoulders as he watched Hawkeyes approach the so called 'Pirate Hunter'. Hawkeyes had come all this way to see him. He wasn't going to let an East Blue nobody steal his thunder. Killing Hawkeyes was his chance to show everyone in the Grand Line to think twice about messing with the Krieg Pirates. Capitalising on Hawkeye's distraction, Krieg launched towards the pair, his spear pointed towards Hawkeye's exposed back. Krieg had only managed a single step before his path was intercepted.

"What the–"

Krieg didn't finish as his face was slammed into the rough wooden decking. Luffy's hand gripped Krieg's hair as she smothered his face further into the decking, the planks cracking under the blunt force.

"Don't you know that interrupting someone else's fight is rude?"

Growling, Krieg swiped his hand behind him, catching Luffy in her side, and forcing her to roll away. Springing to her feet, Luffy brought her fists up in front of her. Grinning, Luffy licked away a bead of blood from where she'd bitten her lip. Hanging back, Luffy waited as Krieg climbed to his feet sedately, his eyes seriously measuring her up for the first time.

"I was going to let you go, but now I'm not feeling so generous."

Krieg flashed his teeth in a sinister grin as the plates of his armour shifted to reveal several gleaming cannons. The missiles fired.

"Black hole."

A barrier of darkness rose between the two as Luffy splayed one hand, her eyes wide from the sudden attack. Three missiles disappeared into the swirling vortex. A hiss escaped Luffy as the fourth missile clipped her shoulder. She hadn't been fast enough. Closing her hand into a fist once more, the darkness vanished.

* * *

Zoro gritted his teeth around Kuina's sword, all three of his blades caught against Hawkeye's own three-inch blade. When Hawkeye had first unsheathed it, a shot of pure rage had coursed through his veins. There was no one in the East Blue that he'd crossed, that he hadn't defeated, so to not be taken seriously… Now though, now he realised that he'd misjudged. He was not the same level of the World's Greatest Swordsman. Not yet. But he couldn't give up. Wouldn't give up. Not now, not ever.

Spots danced across Zoro's field of vision as the exhaustion of the short, uneven, duel began to take its toll. Steel ran across steel as Zoro's blades began to slip. Adjusting his grip, Zoro slashed down at his opponent, leaving an opening Hawkeyes seized upon, thrusting his blade into Zoro's exposed side. Zoro inhaled sharply. The pain burning as the edges of his vision faded black before he could push the pain back down. The pair came to a standstill, neither moving as the blood dripped down the blade and onto the deck.

Hawkeye's eyebrows furrowed at the strange deadlock he'd found himself in. Usually by this point his challenger was on the ground withering in agony, or trying to escape, and yet this boy remained unmoving against his blade.

"Why don't you step back?" Mihawk queried with a vague interest.

"I can't. Stepping back…" Zoro's chest heaved under the strain of pain and exhaustion, "…means giving up. I won't give up. I won't go back on my promises."

Tilting his head in consideration, Mihawk stepped back, withdrawing his dagger from Zoro, the blood dripping off it unnoticed as he tucked it away.

"You'd rather die than admit defeat?"

"Yes."

Mihawk hummed thoughtfully. He'd had many people challenge him for his position, many that had come closer than his present duel, but the choice of defeat over death was far more frequent.

"Name?"

"Roronoa Zoro."

Unsheathing Yoru, Mihawk watched the light run along his blade as he pulled it back.

"You have the spirit of a true swordsman. It is rare to find these days."

Seeing the attack that was coming, Zoro raised his blades, his weight shifting to his front foot to hold off against the onslaught that was heading his way. Hawkeyes moved faster than his own eyes could comprehend, two of his blades shattering in his attempt to block the attack. Releasing the handles of the broken blades, Zoro's shaking fingers found purchase on his remaining sword. Sheathing it, Zoro straightened his back as he stared the World's Greatest Swordsman down. If he was to die, then he'd take it standing up. His unmarked back was a source of pride, one that he wouldn't ever relinquish.

A flash of recognition passed through Mihawk's eyes as he readied Yoru for a final attack.

A cry of pain.

A splash.

Zoro sank.

* * *

 ** _And I'm going to leave this here... Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/faced/followed, I really appreciate your support! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter._**


	8. Chocolates and Cigarettes (A&J Stone)

**_I've had a few questions regarding Luffy's general appearance since she's female. I don't particularly like writing in depth character descriptions in the chapter so I thought I'd quickly cover her appearance here. Basically, she's the same. Short cropped hair, round face and eyes, she's shorter then Ace, and wears her red vest, blue pants, sandals and most importantly Shanks' hat._ _I hope that covers what people were interested in._**

 ** _Please enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

Luffy ducked, one arm reaching up to block Krieg's incoming blow. Gritting her teeth, Luffy's foot slid back under the pressure beating down on her.

"Not so tough are you?"

Luffy's head tilted down, Shank's hat shading her eyes from view as she spoke, "I'm not the one that hides behind a suit of armour."

Releasing his arm, Luffy took advantage of his falling momentum. Thrusting both of her hands against his breast plate, black tendrils spread rapidly, absorbing the metal in their path. Krieg stumbled away, the missing weight throwing him off balance.

Ignoring Krieg for the minute, Luffy hurriedly sought out Zoro, watching in horror as his body fell back into the ocean.

"Zoro!"

Sanji dove into the water after the idiot swordsman. The salt stung at his eyes has he kicked towards the sinking body. Didn't he know better than to upset a young lady?

Distancing herself from Krieg, Luffy searched the water, waiting for Sanji to resurface with Zoro. The tension in her frame fell away as Sanji burst back above the waves, Zoro's semi-conscious form with him. Her attention was short lived, Luffy's head snapping away from the water bound pair as Ace rushed towards Hawkeyes.

"Ace! Stand down! He's not yours!"

Ace ground to a halt, meters from Hawkeyes. His body taunt and ready to avenge their fallen comrade, but not against Luffy's orders.

Mihawk's piecing gaze passed over Ace to Luffy, zooming in on a familiar straw hat. Images of his red haired rival, turned acquaintance, dominating his mind. Shanks' stupid grin belying the pain and truth of the situation. His closest rival had returned to the Grand Line with a limb missing and nothing to show for it. Offering Mihawk nothing but a single line of explanation.

"Hmm... Bet it on the new age indeed..."

Zoro didn't bother hiding the tears of pain and exasperation that rolled down his checks as he thrust his katana into the air. He'd failed his Captain. After he'd told her he was going to be the very best.

"Luffy! I promise! I won't ever lose again!"

Luffy's shoulders slumped with relief. Zoro was alive. Feeling her normal grin return to its position of her face, Luffy gave a firm nod in acceptance.

"It's a promise."

Mihawk watched the scene closely. He did not agree with Shanks on many things, but on this, he could understand. She had the Will. Stepping gracefully aboard his single man vessel, Mihawk addressed the pirates, "I will be waiting for you at the top, Roronoa Zoro. I should like to see how far all of you can reach. For now, I think I have been here long enough."

"Leaving already Hawkeyes?" Krieg called, strutting along the debris towards the warlord, "After you came all this way to see me?"

"Your end will come, but not at my hand. I see no point in lingering here."

Passing a dismissive glance over Krieg, Mihawk's attention returned once more to the young swordsman.

"Our paths will cross again Roanora Zoro, till then."

With a casual two fingered salute, Mihawk steered his vessel away from the carnage – most of it of his own making. Sailing away, he didn't bother to look back, despite an errant thought running through his mind.

 _Perhaps East Blue still has something to offer after all._

* * *

Ace shifted in agitation. Luffy's command not to attack Hawkeyes had left him brimming with adrenaline and nothing to use it on. He would have torn into him if Luffy had given him the chance. He didn't question her order though. He realised that had his and Zoro's positions been reversed, he wouldn't have wanted Zoro interfering with his goal to defeat Whitebeard. It didn't mean he was agitated at the thought of letting Hawkeyes sail away. He was just thankful that Luffy hadn't tried to get him to leave with Johnny, Yosaku and Usopp as they took Zoro and went after Nami and Merry.

A figure burst out of the water behind him. Perfect. This was just what he needed, an outlet.

"I, Iron Wall Pearl will decimate these cooks!"

Rushing the Krieg pirate, Ace dropped to slide on his knees, slipping under the wall created by Pearl's shields. Launching off the balls of his feet Ace sent an uppercut into the exposed jaw, sending the man flying onto his back.

"I don't give a fuck who you are, but I'll take you on."

The Krieg pirate's second division commander sat upright in a daze. Lifting a hand to his lips, he let his mouth fall open, several blood soaked teeth dribbling into his palm. He continued to stare blankly at the blood that was oozing through his fingers.

"Oh crap!"

"Move!"

"Get out of the way!"

The Krieg pirate's dived off the platform and into the sea, desperate to escape their commander's reach.

"Oi, oi, what's that matter? Can't handle a little blood?" Ace taunted.

With crazed eyes, the man charged at Ace.

"FIRE!"

Ace leapt backwards.

He was too slow.

The flames engulfed him.

Luffy's voice ringing in his ears.

"ACE!"

* * *

The flames licked along Ace's arms, running up along his shoulders.

Twisting his hands around to look at his flaming palms, Ace frowned. Logically he registered that his hands were on fire but it felt... weird, like it was part of him and not a separate entity. What was going on? Could it be?

"Ace! That's awesome!" Luffy cheered.

Her brows furrowed as a distracting thought crossed her mind.

"Where'd you get a devil fruit from?"

"Nami gave it to me." Ace replied absently.

Luffy blinked at the proffered response. It wasn't like Nami to just give away something that was so valuable… "Huh. That was nice of her."

"We should probably catch up to her and the others soon." Ace commented as he returned his attention to the man that had a problem with blood, and oh how Ace was going to make him bleed.

Ace and Luffy's concentration was cut off when a resounding _snap_ echoed amongst the wreckage. Heads flying to the direction of the noise, Luffy's eyes narrowed as she took in Gin standing over Zeff, his wooden leg cracked in two, a shotgun pressed into the base of his skull. Luffy tensed as she saw the action for what it truly was. A desperate act, by a desperate man. Gin didn't want to be doing this. He just didn't know what else to do.

Sanji broke the standstill, walking towards Gin, his hands open and visible by his sides.

"Point the gun at me Gin. Just leave the old bastard out of it."

Zeff struggled to lift his head, but did his best as he yelled at the most frustrating child he could have possibly been marooned on an island with, "Brat! You damned well listen to me! Do not do anything fool–"

"I'll do whatever I damn well want to, you old geezer!"

"Idiot!"

"No! No, I won't let them take your restaurant. I will die before that happens! _I will_ repay my debt to you!"

Luffy frowned at the proclamations, cutting off Zeff's scathing reply with one of her own, "You think dying will repay your debt?! You won't repay you debt with death! Death is the coward's way out!"

Startled by the vehemence in Luffy's voice, Sanji almost missed Zeff's words.

"The kids right, Eggplant. There is no debt, but if there was, you would be doing a piss poor job of repaying me for saving you by dying."

Caught up in the exchange, Gin pulled the gun back. The old man wasn't going to be able to do anything from the ground and he was important to Sanji. It was the least he could do for his own saviour.

"Gin! Pearl!" Krieg called out, tired of being ignored, "What do you two think you're doing, you wastes of space? Kill them! I'll kill the girl."

Switching her attention back to the man trying to kill her, Luffy couldn't help but toss one last comment over her shoulder.

"Oi Sanji, think you can take out some of the trash with us?"

Inhaling a lung-full of smoke, Sanji nodded tersely as he faced off with Gin, "I can do that."

Ace nodded tersely. Three against three. They could do this easy.

Luffy cracked her knuckles at the consent, stalking towards her prey.

"Yosh! Let's finish this."

* * *

Sanji gritted his teeth as Gin managed to pin him to the deck, the bar of Gin's tonfa across his throat, cutting off his airways. Kicking out with his legs, Sanji failed to dislodge Gin. Splotches filled his vision. Adjusting his grip on his cigarette in his mouth, Sanji projected the burning stick into Gin's face. The Krieg pirate flinched away, his hand releasing his weapon to swipe at his burnt cheek. Kicking up for a second time, Sanji forced Gin back, a follow up sweep removing Gin's weapons from his reach.

Stretching up to his full height, Sanji stood on his left foot, the toe of his right shoe resting lightly on the deck. He was ready to go again if need be, but he'd rather not fight Gin.

"Give it up Gin. I'm not going to let you destroy the geezers treasure."

Gin ground his teeth as he pulled himself back to his feet.

He didn't want to do this.

* * *

The flames that Pearl had started, had long since extinguished by some unknown command from within Ace's subconsciousness. Turning them back on again, was proving more difficult.

"Why. Isn't. This. Working!" Ace punctuated each frustrated word with a punch to Pearl's dented shield.

Pearl's counter was slow, his movements sloppy as blood dripped across his sight from a cut through his eyebrow. Ace weaved under the straight forward motion slamming both hands flat against his opponent's oversized chest piece.

"Flames on damn it!"

Fire burst along the shield, the extreme heat turning the iron white hot.

The pearl in the centre of the shield shattered.

Pearl screamed, his flesh burning.

The screams stopped.

"Oops."

Staring at the burnt man at his feet, Ace toed at the oozing metal that was dripping onto the deck, his shoes flickering into flames as he made contact. Ace didn't really feel sorry for his fallen punching bag. If the Second Commander of the Krieg Pirates had grown up in the jungle like the Krieg meat shields had claimed, he should have known better.

 _Not everything in the jungle was afraid of fire._

* * *

Luffy held her fists raised to protect her face. She was breathing heavily, but not as much Krieg after she'd managed a solid blow to his exposed chest. He'd been spouting nonsense about the meaning of being a Pirate Captain. How she'd never make it because she wasn't willing to throw away the life of her crew. How he'd sacrifice every last man under his command if he needed to. Luffy would always protect her nakama. Shanks had told her that a Pirate Captain was nothing without his nakama, and of the two, there was no contest as to who she believed.

"You're the one who doesn't know what it means to be a Captain! Give it up Krieg. You can't have this restaurant, and you can't win. Leave!"

Krieg's veins bulged beneath his skin as his body thrummed with anger. He would put this upstart back in her place or he wasn't the strongest man in the East Blue. Charging with the all the speed he possessed, Krieg launched at Luffy.

He was fast.

Not fast enough.

Dropping out of the way of the incoming fist, Luffy thrust her leg out sideways.

Krieg's arms cartwheeled frantically as his momentum carried him forward. Unable to catch himself, Krieg crashed to the ground, a splintered piece of railing piercing through his chest. Blood splattered on the deck as Krieg coughed up the blood leaking into his lung. Crushing the wood with his hand, Krieg rolled over onto his back, the remainder of the jagged railing raising out of his body.

Luffy looked away as Krieg drowned in his own blood, not interested in watching his suffering in his last moments.

A thud resounded from the Baratie's side fins. Gin dropped to his knees, his eyes frozen on his Captain.

Backing away from Gin, Sanji lit a new cigarette.

It was over.

* * *

Ace lay on his back, one hand tucked beneath his head. His other hand was held up in front of his face as he flicked a small flame into existence on the tip of his index finger before extinguishing it against his palm as he curled it back down. Sanji's tale of the All Blue washed over him as the chef excitedly explained his dream to Luffy. A movement broke Ace's concentration. Quickly sitting up, his hand latched around Sanji's wrist, aborting his unnecessary contact with Luffy.

"Okay Romeo. You want to find the magical sea. We can help you do that. Now let's go get something to eat."

Sanji's excitement dimmed at Ace's intervention, but didn't argue as Luffy's stomach imitated the call of a whale.

"Shishishi… Food?"

"I had some soup cooking earlier that should be done." Sanji offered.

As the trio made their way downstairs, they came across Gin who had been sitting on the steps, unsure of what he was supposed to do, or where he was supposed to be, lost in the aftermath of losing his Captain. He didn't blame anyone. Not really. He'd sworn loyalty to Krieg, but if anything had been made apparent during the day, it was that the loyalty he gave was not returned. The betrayal burned at his heart more than the death did if he was honest with himself.

"Hey Gin, we're going to grab something to eat if you want to join us?"

Accepting Sanji's offer, Gin gripped the extended hand, clasping it firmly as Sanji pulled him to his feet.

As the group neared the main dining area, the Baratie's chefs were falling over one another in their attempts to proclaim the soup that had been left in the kitchen as the worst any of them had ever tasted. Sanji's hands clenched into fists at his side as Patty made a particularly rude remark about the soup he knew to be the one he made earlier.

Stepping up to his side, Luffy tilted her head, her eyes scanning the chefs below.

"They're lying."

"I know."

Hearing the blatant dismissal of their act, a number of the chefs threw their hands up in the air in shock. They'd been sprung!

"They might be lying, but you flirt with women, destroy furniture on a regular basis, and you scare away my customers." Zeff commented having looked on with a degree of amusement, now hardening into something more severe but genuine, "I've taught you all I have to teach you, little Eggplant. Now it's time to leave, so I can run my restaurant in peace."

Steamrolling through to avoid Sanji's attempts to reply, Zeff turned his attention to Luffy.

"Where're you heading next, now that you've got a chef?"

Luffy side eyed Sanji, who was almost vibrating from his internal war, the pain growing and shrinking rapidly as his thoughts changed. He wanted to come. He just had to let go of the guilt. Following the prompting of Zeff, Luffy carried on with the conversation, as if she couldn't see the breakdown of the man standing next to her.

"Towards Arlong Park."

"Where?" Gin questioned, never having heard of the location himself, despite his travels of East Blue.

"I dunno. Johnny just said that's where they thought Nami was going."

Nodding his head, Zeff retrieved a map that had been tucked away in the cabinet he'd been leaning against. Pointing to a spot of ocean Zeff waited as Ace moved in closer to begin his explanation.

"This is roughly where we are now. I haven't heard much about an Arlong Park, but there's been mentions of a pirate named Arlong around the Conomi Islands. From here it's pretty much a straight journey north. Once you can see the islands, follow the shore line left. You'll end up reaching Cocoyasi village. They'll have the best idea of where you need to go."

Ace nodded along to the instructions, aware that Luffy was unlikely to have listened to the entire explanation, despite its brevity.

"We should be fine."

"I've packed food into a supply boat. It should be enough for all of you."

Luffy bounced towards the exit Zeff was taking them to with joy at the prospect of food. Ace trailed along beside Luffy, his hands tucked into his pockets, Gin and Sanji not far behind as the rest of the chefs brought up the rear.

Twisting around to walk backwards towards the prepared supply boat, Luffy rose an eyebrow at Sanji.

"Ready to go?"

"I…" Glancing over to Zeff, Sanji hesitated.

The older chef sighed, pushing Sanji towards the boat, "Get out of here, Eggplant."

Sanji's heels dug into the repaired decking as he resisted the push. Turning to his mentor and father figure, Sanji bowed low as he tried to express how much he appreciated all that Zeff had done for him, "Thank you... For everything."

Dodging the incoming slap to his head, Sanji's head snapped up in surprise, his face softening as it registered that the common reprimand has been made half-heartedly at best. Zeff smiled down at his son/apprentice nodding towards the boat that Ace and Luffy has already boarded.

"Off you go."

With a sharp nod, Sanji boarded the vessel, surreptitiously wiping away the water that was gathering in his eyes so the other chefs wouldn't see.

Luffy beamed at her new chef, before switching her attention to her last point of business.

"Ready Gin?"

"Wait, what?"

Thrusting a pointed finger at Gin, Luffy's motions mimicked her words, "You" she pointed to the spot next to her, "on board", she flicked her thumb over her shoulder, "let's go."

Gin shifted nervously. He appreciated the offer. Sanji was a good person, Luffy was crazy – that he was sure of, and Ace seemed alright from what he'd seen. But to go back to that deadly sea? What could a crew of six, seven – including himself, do that a crew of fifty ships couldn't do? They'd be sailing to their deaths.

Luffy cut across Gin's internal panic offering him a bright grin, "'Sides, now that the Hawkeyes guy is gone, it'll totally be safe. We can go catch up to Nami and the others."

The fear curling inside his chest abated bit by bit as Luffy spoke, her grin unwavering as Sanji also offered him a hopeful smile.

Only somewhat aware of what he was doing, Gin found himself nodding and walking towards the small supplies boat. After all, they weren't heading straight back to the Grand Line. Not to mention Luffy and Ace's strange devil fruit powers. No one in Krieg's crew, or even Krieg himself, had anything like that when they entered the Grand Line. Perhaps this crew could make it.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

 ** _And so Sanji and Gin join the party! Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed/faved SWM I really appreciate it!_**


	9. Stand In The Rain p1 (Superchick)

_**Guys, seriously, thank you so much for your patience and support with this story. I've had a really hellish semester that's still not over, but I'm hoping to have more free time to write soon.**_ _**I hope you enjoy this chapter until then though!**_ __

* * *

The small boat containing two Straw Hat Pirate's and two bounty hunters, bobbed gently through the waves, belying the panic that was emerging on board.

"I'm telling you, Zoro-bro, these Arlong Pirates are bad news. They're ten times worse than Krieg." Johnny explained.

Yosaku's fingers tapped an unsteady rhythm on the wood of the deck as he continued on with what he and Johnny new about the fishmen, "They hate humans too. They'll attack no questions asked if we try anything."

Suitably terrified by what was being said, Usopp gripped the sleeve of Zoro's blood stained shirt.

"What should we do Zoro?!"

Taking in the three scared witless men he'd been lumped with, Zoro released a deep breath, his wounds stretching uncomfortably as he did so. Whilst he was happy to hack his way through until they found Nami, he wasn't in any state to take on a pirate crew stronger than Krieg, especially if he was going to have to watch out for the others at the same time.

"We'll head to the village you said was nearby," Zoro said indicating to Johnny, "We'll regroup there and wait for Luffy and Ace. They shouldn't be more than a day behind us. In the mean time you two can find out what the hell is going on in this place."

"And what about me Zoro?" Usopp puffed out his chest ready for his, no doubt, important assignment.

"You can't lie for shit. You can keep a watch out though, see if anything out of the ordinary is going on, and keep an eye out for Luffy and the others. Stay out of trouble. Otherwise I don't care what you do."

* * *

Usopp kicked a pebble up along the street as he mimicked Zoro's voice under his breath, "Don't talk to anyone Usopp. You can't lie Usopp. Don't get into trouble Usopp."

Usopp came to a halt, a light blush fanning across his face as he realised that his mutterings had been heard by a woman and a young boy. The purple haired woman raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to chuckle awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. Ignoring him for the moment, the woman pushed the small boy out onto the street with firm instructions to go find his mother. The pair watched the young boy scurry away, who stopped to glance over his shoulder a couple of times before he disappeared from view.

"Well somebody's not having a good day." The woman commented, finally paying attention to Usopp. Angling her head back to the house behind her, she continued, "Name's Nojiko, and today seems to be the day that everyone needs life advice from me."

After a moment's hesitation Usopp followed Nojiko into her home. Settling down at the kitchen table, Usopp began explaining what was going on, and as a cup of tea was placed in front of him, he began receiving some insightful information in return.

Stay out of trouble. Ha!

He was the Great Captain Usopp!

'Super sleuth' was practically his middle name!

* * *

Nojiko and Usopp leant against the side of the building they were using to obscure Arlong's view of them as he ranted at the villagers in the main street. Johnny and Yosaku slunk towards the pair, conscious of making sure their movements weren't seen by the agitated fishmen. Zoro trailed further behind them, having spotted them after he'd been abandoned by the local doctor who wanted to watch the unfolding spectacle.

As Arlong pulled a man up by his throat, their eyes widened.

"Usopp." Yosaku called in a hushed whisper.

"Y-yeah?" Usopp gulped.

He didn't like the look on Yosaku's face.

"You're a good story teller right?"

Johnny picked up Yosaku's line of thinking, "There's two monsters definitely heading this way right? Two very strong, very scary, pirate-monsters."

Zoro nodded tersely at the cover story Johnny and Yosaku had begun to weave for Usopp.

"Don't link us to the others, just make sure they know that something scarier than a small town rebellion is coming for them."

"I can't do that to Luffy!" Usopp hissed.

Even if Nami was an Arlong Pirate like Nojiko had told him, and Luffy would definitely do something about it –it seemed like she always did– he couldn't just throw her under the wagon like that! It was treason! Mutiny!

"Don't get involved. Please." Nojiko interrupted Usopp's panic, "Gen knew the risks, you shouldn't be getting involved."

"S-S-See! We shouldn't get involved."

Pulling Usopp up by the straps of his overalls, Zoro spoke in a rushed whisper, "We protected your village when we damn well didn't have to. Luffy's decided Nami's one of us, so you're gonna do the same for her, got it?

Usopp gulped but nodded vigorously. He could do this. He was the Great Captain Usopp. He really, _really_ , didn't want to though.

Stepping out from between the two buildings, Usopp pointed his finger towards the leader of the fishmen.

"Hey you!"

Usopp squeaked as Arlong's gaze swung onto him. Why did he agree to this?

Hurriedly, Usopp launched into weaving a story about Ace and Luffy's monstrosity, and their impending arrival. His shaking giving credence to his tale.

At one point he gestured to Zoro's wounded chest, causing Zoro to grimace.

It was one thing to talk up Luffy's destructive capabilities. It was another to accuse her of harming one of her crew. They'd have to leave that section out when they told Luffy what they'd done…

Having held Arlong's attention throughout his tale, Usopp gulped as his story wound to an end, and he found himself running out of things to say that could potentially frighten the fearsome fishmen away.

Taking in Usopp's shivering form, Arlong dropped Gen to the ground. Releasing a snort, he turned away from the villagers. Ambling his way back towards Arlong Park, Arlong threw a parting comment over his shoulder, "There's nothing on this sea that's as strong as me. You can send these monsters my way when they get here… and if they don't come… I'll kill you all."

* * *

"I'm so hungry! Sanjiiii!" Luffy whined, "Feed me!"

Sanji hovered in the doorway to the small supply boats kitchen, torn between his inability to say no to a pretty lady, and the rational part of his brain telling him that they'd all starve if he kept feeding Luffy like she wanted to be fed.

Meanwhile, Gin's eyebrows rose in undisguised disbelief.

"We ate a few hours ago. How can you possibly be hungry again?"

Luffy turned her pitiful gaze from Sanji to Gin, "I'm always hungry. Gramps says it's 'cause my devil fruit makes me a black hole or somethin'. But Gramps and Ace eat just as much as I do."

Ace shot Luffy an unimpressed look at the comparison of their appetites.

"No one eats as much as you do, Luffy."

"You do too!"

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not."

Gin thought about interrupting the duo before cutting himself off. Whilst ever they were arguing, neither of them were eating. That could only be a good thing for their dwindling food supply, with no real knowledge of how much longer the trip was going to take.

"Do–"

Luffy's stomach grumbled loudly.

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Luffy jutted out her bottom lip, her wide brown eyes meeting each of those of the males on board, lingering on her recently acquired chef.

"Food?"

Ace looked away from Luffy out of self-preservation. He may have been mostly immune to Luffy's doe-eyed pleading, but 'mostly', was not fully, and whilst he couldn't admit it now, he was kind of, maybe, just a bit, hungry as well.

Gin, startled by the power of Luffy's pout, was completely unable to bring himself to roll his eyes at her blatant abuse of her big brown eyes. Never had he thought he'd be made to surrender an argument in such away. Especially not by someone he knew to be terrifyingly powerful, and was more than capable of physically taking whatever it was she wanted. For that alone, Luffy was definitely more dangerous then Krieg.

Sanji, snapping out of his indecision, disappeared into the small galley to whip something up for his Captain. As Sanji's hands rapidly sliced through the vegetables that he was going to use in a filling, but quick to make, omelette, his mind raced through plans for how he was going to cater to Luffy's never ending appetite. Not to mention Ace's similar eating habits (no matter what Ace tried to argue, Sanji had seen him eat at the Baratie, and the quantities he consumed were certainly nothing to scoff at either).

But there was no way he was going to let anyone go hungry under his watch.

Feeding Luffy and Ace without letting everyone starve within the first few days?

It was going to be a constant challenge making it from port to port.

Tipping the whisked egg into the frying pan, Sanji had one clear thought.

 _Challenge accepted._

* * *

 ** _Sorry that this chapter was so short, but I actually split up what I had so that I could get this to you guys faster. I hope you enjoyed it though, and I promise the next instalment won't take so long!_**

 ** _To my guest reviewers, thank you so much for your support! I'm sorry I can't get to you all individually, but these are a few Q &A's from you guys: _**

**Starelight - why chocolate for a tittle? _  
_ _All of my titles actually come from song titles. Chocolates and Cigarettes is by Angus and Julia Stone, and my favourite line from the song is 'Still too young to fail, too scared to sail away', which I felt was fitting._**

 **Aria Michigo - how is Ace going to react when the crew is in Logue town? _ **  
I'm afraid for this one you're just going to have to wait and see!**_**


	10. Stand In The Rain p2 (Superchick)

_**First chapter for 2017! I hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

Nami growled under her breath as she approached the band of pirates sprawled across the path just on the outskirts of town. She thought she'd left them well and truly behind until Arlong returned to the Park citing that there were pirate's in town and, apparently, monsters were coming. It reeked of Usopp. She knew that Arlong thought it was all a good game. That he'd have another batch of humans to prove his species 'superiority' of strength against. But there was no way this could end well.

As she neared, Nami took in the the scene of Zoro dozing under a tree, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku wildly recounting their (probably highly embellished) encounter with Arlong, as evident by Usopp's mimicking of the shape of Arlong's nose to Ace, Luffy, Sanji and Gin. Nami had to get rid of them, and fast.

"What are you lot doing here? Outsiders aren't welcome on our island."

Nami's brown eyes were cold and empty as she spoke. Her outward calm carefully constructed to hide the storm of panic that was swelling up inside her. Whilst she didn't think much the intelligence of the Captain and her crew, Nami knew they weren't bad people, not like Arlong. If they stayed, they were going to get themselves killed. Luffy had decimated the Buggy Pirates for a dog. She couldn't let them become involved in this. This was her village, her people, and she was going to free them by _herself_.

Ace watched Nami carefully. Luffy had chosen Nami. Whatever she'd seen, she wanted it, and just like Sanji and Gin, they weren't going to be leaving the islands without her. Which was why Luffy's next comment didn't surprise him at all.

"You're going to be our navigator."

Nami's hands clenched as she barely refrained from stomping her foot like an angry child.

"Arg! Don't you ever listen to people when they're talking?! I'm an Arlong Pirate! I'm not going to go with you! Hurry up and get off our island!"

Nami was right in a way, words meant little to Luffy. The darkness was so much more telling. Tilting her head to the side, Luffy became side tracked with a question she hadn't thought to ask Nami before.

"Na, Nami?"

"What?" The woman in question snapped.

"What's your dream?"

"My..? I don't..." Nami faulted before finding her resolve again, "What do you care?"

Luffy merely waited for an answer.

Lost under the weight of Luffy's stare, Nami let her greatest dream slip past her lips, "I want... I want to create a map of the world."

"So why don't you?" Luffy pushed.

Usopp answered for Nami when it became clear she didn't want to answer, "The villagers have to pay Arlong to stay alive; 100,000 for adults, 50,000 for kids. Nami's trying to buy back the village for 100 million beli."

"How much more do you need?" Luffy asked.

"What?"

"How much are you short?"

"7 million beli." Nami confessed quietly.

Opening up a black hole, Luffy focused of emptying it of its recent collection.

Nami gasped as gold plated armour clattered to the ground.

Sanji clamped his hand on Gin's shoulder, pulling his focus away from Krieg's arsenal.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's fine."

Stepping out of Sanji's grip, Gin picked up the rounded arm plate, moving it out of Nami's range as her hands swept over the breast plate, her eyes gleaming as she calculated what it would be worth.

"You'll want to put this one back, Captain. It's full of a poison gas that will kill anyone that inhales it."

The group stilled at Gin's words, fearful that even the slightest movement would set it off. Gin ducked his head sheepishly at the tense atmosphere he'd created.

"It needs to be activated for the gas to be released, but it'd be better not to leave it lying around." He explained.

Releasing her breath, Luffy accepted the weapon, carefully dropping it back into her black hole, absently wondering what it would take to set it off, if it hadn't exploded in her black hole or when she'd dropped it out onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Ace's lips curled down as he watched Nami hug the breast plate to her chest, hope radiating off her. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he'd learnt his lesson from Bluejam.

"You know he's not going to just let the town go, right? He's not just going to give up his main source of income."

"Arlong promised! He promised that I could buy back the village if I raised 100 million beli and with this I have!"

"Yeah, but did he say that he'd let _you_ go?"

Nami froze, the colour draining from her face. Technically she was an Arlong Pirate. She'd never seen what happened to a pirate that tried to leave Arlong –no one had ever done it before– but she'd heard stories of deserters. No. He wouldn't let her go, and if she tried to leave… he'd just attack the village. Tears of frustration welled up in Nami's eyes, her head bowing low over the breast plate, missing Sanji berating Ace for is lack of tact, and upsetting her.

"You know…" Luffy began, "One Piece is said to be hidden on the furthest island at the end of the seas. We'll be sailing all around the world to find it. You want to make a map of the world, and you can do that with us. Me n' the boys can take care of these guys. You don't have to be afraid of them anymore."

Nami's fingernails raked across the mark that labelled her the property of Arlong.

"Why would you...?" Nami's voice trailed off to barely more than a whisper.

Did these people see how dangerous Arlong was? How much damage he could do? She'd done nothing for these people. She'd lied to them, stolen their money, their ship. She didn't deserve their help. Desperately forcing her walls back up, Nami put as much venom in her voice as she could muster.

"I don't need your pity!"

"It's not pity." Ace replied before any of the others could, "You're in a situation that you can't get out of on your own. Luffy's offering you a way out."

Having cracked his eyes open at the news of the poisonous gas, Zoro finally added his two beli worth, "Tch, and didn't you hear? Luffy and Ace have been itching to have a fight with someone who might actually manage to hit back."

"This is not the time Marimo!" Sanji snapped.

"What did you call me?!"

Gin struggled to hold the swordsman and chef apart, his arms stretched as far as they could to keep them separated.

"Nami, do you want them gone?" Luffy asked, ignoring the squabbling behind her.

Nami dropped Krieg's breastplate onto the ground, her hands covering her face. She thought she had a plan. She thought she knew what she was doing, that she could do this on her own. No one had ever made her feel like she didn't have to.

"I can't– I don't– Luffy..."

Kneeling on one knee in front of her, Luffy asked her one last time.

"Do you want help?"

"Yes! Please. Luffy, help me."

Luffy plopped her hat atop of Nami's head, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay."

"Yeah!" Johnny cheered pumping his fist in the air, "What they're doing isn't right Nami-sis! We won't let them do it any longer!"

Ignoring Sanji at Johnny's declaration, Zoro tapped the butt of his sword against the bounty hunter's head, frowning at him, "Since when have you cared about these things?"

"Oi!" Yosaku interrupted, "East Blue is our home too! If we don't stop him, what's to stop him from taking over the whole sea?!"

"Exactly!" Johnny continued, "We'll help as well! …Although I don't think we'll be much of a match against Arlong if the rumours are true."

Luffy shook her head in amusement. Pushing to her feet, Luffy offered a hand down to Nami.

"I'll take care of Arlong. Why don't you head home and pack up your stuff?"

"My stuff?" Nami asked confused.

"You are coming with us, aren't you? You're going to be our navigator."

Biting her lip in an attempt to contain her emotions, Nami jerkily nodded her head.

"Yosh! Let's go!"

The crew all stood, only a pace behind their Captain as they marched towards Arlong park. They'd barely moved a few meters before Nami was calling out to them,

"Luffy?"

"Yeah?"

Gazing back, Luffy's eyes narrowed as the tears streamed down Nami's face.

"The tower… Destroy it?"

A savage smile stretched across Luffy's face.

It would be her pleasure.

* * *

Nami snuck in through the back door of her home, and upon realising that Nojiko was nowhere to be seen, collapsed ungracefully into a chair at the kitchen table. The joy and elation that Luffy had instilled in her was quickly descending into fear. Had she just sent them to their deaths? She'd seen what Luffy could do, and she'd heard snatches of what had happened after she'd stolen their ship and left them at the Baratie, but was it enough against Arlong?

Nojiko strode through the door, stopping short at seeing Nami at the table. Blinking away her surprise, Nojiko took on her usual teasing lit, "You never visit, you never write! …I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Today really did seem to be the day that everyone wanted her advice. Maybe she should start charging for it…

Meanwhile, Nami grinned at the familiar teasing, lifting her head from the table, the words tumbled out of her before she could stop them.

"I'm a pirate."

Nojiko raised an eyebrow, concerned with what could have possibly gotten into Nami.

"A Straw Hat Pirate. I'm going to go out to sea and draw a map of the world."

Sliding into a chair across the table, Nojiko's brain almost shut down from trying to process what Nami was telling her. At least it somewhat explained the straw hat she was wearing. Sort of. Kind of. She was still a little bit confused – maybe a lot confused,

"This is– That's– Surprising." Nojiko decided on, "You mean the pirates that were in town right? I met the captain… I thought they were the Usopp Pirates."

Nami snorted at the thought of the conversation Nojiko must have had with Usopp. No wonder he knew so much about what was going on in the village.

"He's not the captain. Luffy's the captain. She's… She's so strong, and she's fighting Arlong… She's fighting Arlong!" Pushing back from the table, Nami paid no heed to her chair as it tumbled to the ground.

"I have to go help!"

Grabbing her staff from beside the door, Nami rushed outside, only to grind to a halt as Gen walked towards her, a platoon of Marines behind him. He did not look happy.

"What's going on?"

* * *

Pressing a hand against the big doors that marked the entrance to Arlong Park, Ace drew back his right fist, slamming into it with shattering force. As the dust settled, Ace bowed semi-mockingly as he swept his arm out as if to show Luffy in.

"After you."

Sharing a quick grin with Ace, Luffy stepped into the compound, ignoring the fishmen charging at her. Ace darted around her, shooting out a stream of fire, forcing the fishmen back and burning those who didn't move fast enough. Having shown the fishmen exactly why they should behave, Ace retreated to where Luffy had stopped, her attention locked on the figure lounging in a single chair.

"You Arlong?"

"I am. Who are you?"

Ignoring the question, Luffy looked away to focus on the tower that Nami had asked her to destroy.

"You made my navigator cry."

Placing her hand on the solid column, Luffy dug her fingers into the concrete.

"Black hole."

The black vortex of her yami yami no mi powers opened and spread from her hand embedded in the pillar. The tower lifting from its footings as it was sucked into the darkness.

Within seconds the tower was gone.

Luffy closed her black hole, before extending her hand towards the sky and reopening it. The debris of what had once been Arlong's prized symbol of power, raining down into a pile of rubble. As the last of the building crashed to the ground, Luffy's dispassionate gaze fell upon Arlong wide-eyed form once more.

Cracking her knuckles, Luffy stalked forward.

"Nobody makes my navigator cry."

* * *

 ** _Mwahaha... Thanks so much to everyone who has faved, followed, and reviewed SWM, it really astounds me to hear that so many people enjoy it!_**


	11. Stand In The Rain p3 (Superchick)

_**Hey guys, I just wanted to thank everyone for their patience with me, I've rewritten this chapter a couple of times as I wasn't happy with it, but I hope you enjoy the final product!**_

* * *

Luffy was on top of Arlong before he could fully comprehend what was going on, his face smashing into the concrete foundations.

Rolling off his body, Luffy sprung back to her feet, her fists raised and ready to go. Her gaze remained unwavering, even as a trumpeting noise sounded behind her calling forth a massive sea monster.

Ace didn't hesitate as he launched at the creature, flames engulfing his body. The sea cow reared backwards at the sudden onslaught of flames, crying out as they burnt along the side of his face. As Ace prepared for a second attack, the cow suddenly disappeared beneath the water, a trail of bubbles revealing its retreating path.

"Momoo!" One of the fishmen yelled.

Shaking with rage, the fishmen pulled out six swords, one grasped in each of his octopus like arms. Charging towards Ace, his path was interrupted by Zoro, who blocked the incoming blow against his single remaining katana.

"Sorry Ace," Zoro apologised without any real remorse, "I want this one."

"No human should be strong enough to hurt Momoo!" The fishman continued, jumping back and attempting to make his way around Zoro.

Zoro twisted around to catch the blades once more, blocking the fishman from Ace, a mocking smile curling at his lips, "I think it's going to take more than a door and a cow to take down a guy that wants to take Whitebeard's head."

Ace rolled his eyes at the exchange, but granted Zoro his desired opponent, jumping into the throng of fishmen that were currently standing around and gaping at Luffy as she pounded into their leader.

* * *

Usopp chuckled nervously as Luffy, Ace and Zoro all raced eagerly into their fights. Surely he'd just get in the way, right? They were fine without him. They were having fun! There was no need to interrupt them.

He'd just make sure none of the fishmen escaped out of the gates!

With his slingshot raised (one never knew when one of the fishmen may turn their attention to little old him whilst the others were busy), Usopp backed up towards the compounds gates.

Mission relocation was a go!

Usopp's success was short lived however, as he stumbled backwards over Johnny's foot, releasing his slingshot as he fell, the small pellet smacking a fishman in the back of his head.

Usopp gulped as he started to shuffle away along the ground.

The fishman turned slowly. A sneer rippling along his face as he locked his sights on Usopp. But Usopp was soon blocked from view as Gin stepped between them, his tonfa swinging in a lazy circle.

Gin kept his stance relaxed and somewhat slouched, in a way he'd previously realised enemies often found off-putting. Behind him, Johnny and Yosaku pulled Usopp to his feet, the three of them sticking close as the fishman tired of waiting and moved to attack Gin.

Gin blocked the incoming motion, grimacing when his return attack, which would have shattered a regular human's bones, barely winded the fishman. A movement flickered in the corner of Gin's sight. Ducking out of the blow aimed for his head, Gin dove to the side, precariously managing to keep his balance. "Usopp cover me!"

"What?!"

Johnny and Yosaku jumped in, "We got you bro."

'We got you', however, did not go as planned as Johnny and Yosaku were downed by two solid punches, one to each of their stomachs.

Body quivering, and knees shaking, Usopp drew his slingshot back once more as the fishman gave him a feral grin. Was now a bad time to mention that he had a serious disease against experiencing all forms of pain?

* * *

Sanji and the fishman he'd paired off against, circled each other slowly, leaving Sanji's back to the water. Turning away from the fishman, Sanji went for the water, knowing that the fishman was looking to force him in. Better to jump then be pushed.

Sanji's break for the water was intercepted as Gin tackled him sideways, the fishman sailing over their heads and into the water.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?! He's a fishman! FISH–MAN. Part fish. Why on earth would you get into the water?!"

Sanji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at Gin's berating. Ah, yeah. He may not have thought that one through all that well.

Sanji and Gin jumped backwards as the fishman came barrelling out of the water, his linked fist slamming into the concrete at their feet as he plummeted down from the air. Focusing on the fishman they'd been neglecting, Sanji and Gin stared off against their opponent. The tense atmosphere broke, both sides blinking in astonishment as Usopp tore through the middle of their battleground, a fishman hot on his heels.

Sanji and Gin shared a brief look before Sanji ran after the cat-and-mouse chase that had Usopp enacting the role of the mouse.

Turning back to the fishman in front of him, Gin quirked an eyebrow.

"Wanna dance?"

* * *

Speed had always been one of Sanji's strengths, it had to be with the way the old geezer wielded his wooden leg. Within a few long strides Sanji had sped past the fishman to Usopp's side before sliding to a stop, giving the fishman nowhere to go but straight into his awaiting kick. As the fishman rose, Sanji braced his hands on the ground, kicking up into his neck.

Usopp, overcoming his shaking body, fired a tabasco star over Sanji's head, catching the fishman in his undefended face.

"Arg!"

Dropping to his knees, the fishman scrubbed at his eyes, tears flowing freely as he tried to rid them of the burning sauce.

Usopp jumped pumping his fist in the air as he went, the feeling of success coursing through his veins.

"Ha! The Great Captain Usopp strikes again!"

Sanji exhaled heavily as he reached for another cigarette. Once it was lit and secured in the side of his mouth he brushed past Usopp, slapping him lightly on the back of his head.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place? Then I wouldn't have had to come rescue you."

Letting Usopp's rambling response wash over him, Sanji dispassionately stared down at the fishman that was still withering in pain. Lifting his foot, Sanji struck out a final time, sending the fishman into an unconscious sprawl on the dirt road. Whilst he wasn't really for striking a man when he was already down, these bastards had hurt Nami, and he didn't want to give him a chance to simply wash out his eyes and come at them again.

Tilting his head back to look at Usopp, his lips pulled down in a frown as a thought occurred to him.

"Where did that tabasco sauce come from?"

Usopp gulped nervously at Sanji's heated look, "Ah-haha… I have my own stash…"

"Fine. So long as you're not wasting food from the kitchen."

Leaving a nervously chuckling Usopp behind him, Sanji headed back into Arlong park. The damn moss head was bound to be in trouble by now.

* * *

Juggling six blades against his own single blade was proving a more difficult task than Zoro had anticipated. He'd never back down from a challenge though.

Swaying left and right, Zoro managed to dodge out of the way of most of the wild slashes, only having to catch the ones that were coming a little too close for comfort.

As the fishman, Hachi, as he'd proclaimed himself to be called, beat down on Zoro with a single-minded ferocity, Zoro had little option but to move backwards. The damage he'd managed to dish out was superficial at most. Unable to block and attack in his current situation.

A clatter beneath his feet caused him a momentary distraction. Johnny and Yosaku had fallen to the ground, their blades lying unused beside them. Grinning to himself, Zoro didn't notice as Hachi invaded his space taking a cheap blow at his bandage wrapped chest.

Falling to his knees as spots filled his vision, Zoro hands reached blindly for the Johnny and Yoasku's blades. With Kuina's blade clenched between his teeth, and the familiar weight of a blade in each of his hands, Zoro forced himself forwards and onto the offensive.

Giving him access to two extra blades?

That was a big mistake.

The sound of shattering blades filled the air as Zoro tore through Hachi's defences. The borrowed blades each accounting for the destruction of three of the swords, whilst Kuina's katana sliced through Hachi's chest.

As Hachi collapsed, Zoro sheathed his blade. His opponent sufficiently dealt with, Zoro collapsed down onto one knee. As his jagged breathing eased, and his vision cleared, Zoro forced himself back to his feet. Assured of his balance, and that he wasn't immediately going to keel over, Zoro ambled over to Johnny and Yosaku, prodding the pair back into realm of consciousness.

* * *

Luffy jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the sharp set of teeth aiming for her shoulder. Another step away had her back to back with Ace, some of the tension bleeding out of her shoulders with the reassurance that Ace was right behind her.

Ace glanced down behind him, grinning down at Luffy.

"Having fun?"

"He keeps talking at me." Luffy commented in response.

"I'll switch. These small-fry can't seem to handle the heat."

"Na-uh. I told Nami I'd take care of Arlong."

The pair broke apart as Arlong dove towards them, using his nose like a spear.

"Come on Lu." Ace whined (not that he'd ever admit he was whining), "I'll just help a little. I'm starting to feel bad for all these other ones. It's no fun picking on weaklings."

Arlong snarled at the blatant dismissal of his crew. Gearing up to charge at them again. Arlong's vision became coated with a hazy red as he realised that Ace wasn't just aiming to stir him up, but had actually left a trail of his burnt brethren behind.

"I'll kill you!"

Dodging to the side, Luffy hissed as Arlong's serrated nose sliced across her upper-arm. Gripping her left arm to ease the blood flow, Luffy nodded sharply at Ace. Bringing down the tower had taken more out of her than she'd anticipated, and she could no longer convince herself that the thrumming of her heart was only from adrenaline. Besides, she did technically tell Nami that she _and_ the boys would take care of it.

With Luffy's acquisition, Ace dropped low, his legs swing out to knock Arlong's feet out from underneath him as he attempted to charge once more. Exhaustion weighing on her limbs, Luffy side-stepped Arlong's falling form to drill her elbow into the side of his face.

Arlong careened to the side, landing heavily on his hands and knees.

With a growl he was back on his feet.

Spinning on his heel, Arlong choked as Ace's fist met his stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs. Relentless in his pursuit, Ace caught Arlong's nose and twisted.

Snap.

Arlong howled.

Imitating Luffy's earlier move, Ace drove his elbow down into the back of Arlong's neck.

A series of cracks sounded as Arlong dropped to the ground unmoving.

Luffy and Ace paused.

Moving out of her ready stance, Luffy eased her way towards the fishman, "You got his spine." Luffy commented mildly, the fingers of her injured arm poking along Arlong's neck, "He barely even felt it."

Crouching beside Luffy, Ace shrugged off his unbuttoned shirt, wrapping it tightly around her arm to stop the bleeding.

"That might need stitches."

Looking away from the fallen fishman, Luffy gripped at the material of Ace's shirt that would now be unsalvageable.

"Probably." Luffy affirmed through gritted teeth, "It hurts."

"Captain." Gin called as he toed at the body of the octopus fishman that Zoro had fought, "Some of these guys are still alive. What do you want us to do?"

Abandoning Arlong's body, Luffy pushed the pain out of her mind as best she could against the constant throbbing. Stepping over Gin's own fallen opponent, Luffy wandered over to Gin's side.

Peering down at the fishman, Luffy took in his slashed body, cut hair, and the odd sun tattoo that he had on his forehead. Pain pulsed through his body with every inhale and exhale of his chest, but he was alive.

Zoro's condition had meant he was fighting at far less than his best, and whilst she had been actively after Arlong, she knew that the rest of her nakama weren't necessarily aiming to kill. The fishman that Zoro had been fighting was a sword-swinging idiot that believed he was doing the right thing under his Captain's orders. Ace might have told her that she had no place to talk, calling him an idiot, but this one wasn't bad, just stupid.

"Leave them." Luffy decided finally, "If they live they won't stick around here, and if they don't, they don't."

Luffy's attention was quickly diverted by Usopp's nervous shout.

"Oi, Luffy! We've got company!"

Picking her way through the bodies towards the broken gates, Luffy scanned the scene that presented itself, vaguely aware of her nakama coming to stand by her side.

Marines.

A small squad, only totalling at four men, including the mousy looking man whose coat denoted him as the branch Captain. Luffy focused on him as he sauntered towards Arlong Park, a smug grin on his face.

"Splendid! You've done me quite the favour getting rid of Arlong and his crew. Such a shame that repayment will be in the form of your deaths."

The frown on her face grew deeper as she took in the evil, _greed_ , that resided within him. She hadn't understood it before. How the marines didn't know what was going on here. But now she did. They did know, and they'd done _nothing_. He should have brought more men.

"You know, marines like you are the kind Gramps hates the most. More than pirates even." Luffy closed the distance between the two groups as she spoke, slowly making her way forward with Ace and the others half a step behind, "And just like Gramps, I can't stand your kind."

A marine to the right charged forward, not waiting for orders from his Captain.

Surprised by the rush attack, Johnny and Yosaku raised their blades defensively, their injuries burning as Johnny's blade caught the marine's incoming one, whilst Yosaku's pierced through the marine's abdomen.

The marine fell, blood pooling around his withering body.

Backing up the pair bit at their lips nervously.

Not good.

They were bounty hunters. Generally, not liked by the marines, but more or less ignored except for when the dropped in a recent catch.

Killing a marine? Not good at all.

The remaining marines blanched, shocked still, at the sight of their fallen comrade, too used to their cushy interactions with Arlong and minor scuffles with drunkards.

"Luffy, you letting any of them go? Cause now's your last chance." Ace told her as he lit his hands on fire.

The marines weren't going to let them go, and Luffy wouldn't be leaving their branch Captain alive. Not after what he'd done.

Sweeping her gaze over each of the marines in turn, Luffy shook her head in the negative.

"No. They all go."

The battle could hardly be called such. Luffy went straight for the Captain, dropping her hold on her arm in favour of grabbing the Captain's lapels and pulling him in close. Gin darted past her, smashing the ball of his tonfa into the head of the marine on the left, as Ace blast a stream of fire at the final marine.

"Luffy!"

Luffy cocked her head to indicate that she'd heard Nami's call but didn't take her eyes off the snivelling marine in her grasp.

"I want to do it."

Luffy's head turned to look at Nami. Her left fist was clenched, her right wrapped around her staff, scrapes and darkening bruises littering her skin where there had previously been none. Nami was angry, out for blood, but that was now, and when the anger faded she'd regret what she'd done.

Luffy needed a navigator.

Striking up to grab the Captain's head in her hands, Luffy twisted his neck.

Seeing Nami sink to her knees, her staff forget beside her as her hands covered her mouth, Luffy knew she'd made the right choice.

She needed a navigator, not a killer. She didn't delude herself with thoughts of protecting Nami from killing forever. They were pirates. It would happen. But for now, she would keep the blood off Nami's hands.

* * *

Ace sat beside Nami as she had her tattoo marking her as an Arlong Pirate covered over with something that had meaning to her. He'd left Luffy eating her way through the town's celebratory feast, knowing that whilst ever there was food out, she wouldn't be straying far. Not even with her left arm stitched, bandaged, and hanging in a sling to restrict her movements, would she be deterred from eating all that she could.

"All done!" The doctor who had been working on Nami's tattoo commented as he sat upright, stretching out his shoulders.

Accepting the gauze the doctor had offered her, Nami smiled at the design once more, before pressing the material against her lightly bleeding shoulder.

"Don't suppose you'd be up to doing another one?"

Ace grinned at the two looks of surprise being sent his way. He'd been mulling over getting a tattoo for a while, and the quality of Nami's job was good enough that he didn't need to worry about having it stuffed up.

"Yeah I can do another one. You want it in the same colour?"

Ace shook his head in the negative, "Black if I can."

The doctor sighed, clearly disappointed that he'd have to set up another colour, but shoved a piece of paper and a pen in Ace's direction.

"Give me a guide of what you want whilst I get everything organised."

Accepting the pen and paper, Ace began to sketch out what he wanted. It was simple and clean. His name, incorporated with Sabo's jolly roger. That way, he'd always have Sabo with him.

Nami frowned lightly at Ace's design, not at all sure why he deliberately wanted his name spelt incorrectly on himself. Guessing that it probably had some symbolic reference, much like her own tattoo, Nami refrained from asking, instead she followed a different line of questioning.

"Do you want me to stay? Or I can go check on Luffy if you'd prefer?"

"No, I'll be right." Ace declined, "Are you all packed?"

"Yeah, my bags are on Merry already."

"May as well go see what trouble Luffy's in then."

Nami gave a short snort of laughter at Ace's description as she left the small hospital room in search of her new Captain.

* * *

Ace wandered out of the small building, his eyes automatically scanning the mingling crowds for Luffy and the others. Spotting Sanji and Gin, Ace made his way over, the other's seated forms coming into view as he weaved his way closer. In the centre of the group, Luffy laid sprawled on her back, eyes closed, and breathing even, exhausted after the day's excitement.

Slipping through the gap between Johnny and Usopp, Ace nudged her shoulder with his boot clad foot.

"Come on sleepy head. Up and at 'em."

Sitting bolt upright, Luffy swayed in a disorientated alertness. Realising that there was no immediate danger, Luffy gave a grunt of acknowledgement as she tiredly wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

Her devil fruit powers took a lot of her, and she hadn't ever pulled apart a building as big as Arlong's tower before. Right hand scratching at her hair, Luffy panicked briefly as she noticed her missing hat. Her panic was short lived as Gin nudged it closer from where it had been resting beside her.

Opening her mouth to ask why Ace had woken her up, Luffy paused, distracted by the black ink etched into her brother's arm.

Bobbing down beside her, Ace scooped up Luffy's hat, placing it back on her head. Keeping his eyes locked on her hat, Ace avoided looking at Luffy's reaction to his tattoo, doubt flickering inside his chest for the first time.

His anxiousness was quickly proved unfounded as Luffy reached out to trace over the letters with her calloused finger tips. A sad smile playing on her lips.

Luffy's concentration was broken by Usopp's exclamations.

"What? Ace!? They spelt your name wrong! You should have told me you wanted a tattoo! There would have been no way, I, Usopp the great tattooist, would have ever spelt your name wrong!"

Luffy and Ace shared a knowing glance, Ace humming non-committedly to Usopp's continued declarations of superior tattooing ability.

* * *

Luffy's head tilted to one side as she blinked blankly at the scene in front of her. Yosaku and Johnny, covered in bandages and plasters from where the villagers had fixed them up, were on their knees their heads hovering just above the ground, with their swords laid out before them.

"Luffy-sama, please take us with you."

Luffy shifted on her feet, uncomfortable with the amount of reverence the pair were regarding her with. She was the Captain, yes, but all of her nakama were also her friends.

"You can come with us–"

Johnny and Yosaku launched to their feet, pumping their fists into the air.

Luffy held up a hand to halt the theatrics of the pair hugging each other.

"–You can come with us, if it's okay with Zoro."

"Wait, what?"

Zoro's gaze flicked rapidly between his Captain and First Mate, not at all sure why he was being handed this decision.

"They had the crap beaten out of them by Arlong's men. Even Usopp did better than that."

Usopp threw his hands up at Luffy's back handed compliment, "Oi! Oi! Oi! What was that supposed to mean?!"

Sanji snorted at Usopp's indignation.

"You're going to have to up your game, Usopp."

"This crew doesn't have any room for dead weights. If you're coming, you'll need to do whatever training Zoro deems fit." Ace explained, talking over the top of Sanji and Usopp's squabbling.

Yosaku and Johnny turned to Zoro, the pair once more dropping to their knees, their hands clasped beneath their chins.

"Zoro-bro! Please you got ta let us come with you!"

"Please, please, please! We'll do whatever you need us to."

"Don't leave us to the marines!"

Stepping away from Johnny and Yosaku's attempts to shuffle towards him, Zoro gave in, "Alright! Jeeze. Just get off the ground already. You'd better not get in the way of my training though."

The last of his agreement lost under the volume of cheers coming from the ex-bounty hunter pair.

* * *

 _ **Thank you again for reading! And thank you to everyone who has reviewed/faved/followed, you guys really keep me going.**_


	12. Shadow of the Day (Linkin Park)

_**You guys are seriously all so awesome! Sail With Me has officially broken 1000 alerts/followers, and oh my goodness I had no idea that I would ever hit such a number and I have no idea what I've done to deserve so many of you, but thank you so much and I hope you all continue to enjoy SWM!**_

* * *

Garp was not pleased.

He had been in East Blue to pick up ex-Captain Morgan and had additionally managed to pick up two navy-recruits. They were a bit young the pair of them, and needed a lot of training, but the pink haired one had the right attitude at least, better than his own two brats. However, neither these two, or the ex-captain were the reason behind Garp's soured mood. In fact, everything had been under control until the call had come through.

A single den-den mushi call had seen their mission parameters quickly expanded into investigating two other marine captains that had not checked in, Captain Pudding of the 77th branch, and Captain Nezumi of the 16th branch. Both had seemingly disappeared, with their last known location being the Conomi Islands. Having been the closest Vice Admiral in the area, it had fallen to him to sort out what was going on.

He'd managed to confirm reports of Gosa's destruction when they'd sailed past the once thriving village towards Cocoyasi (the task that had originally been appointed to Captain Pudding). The total decimation of village had been unlike anything he'd seen in East Blue in a long time. In other parts of the Grand Line, certainly. There were a number of creatures and people that could have caused such a feat. But not here. Not in the most sheltered of seas.

His mood had continued to plummet when the villagers had refused to talk. All he'd been able to ascertain was that the ship that had been part of the 77th branch had been sunk by Arlong Pirates, with no survivors. However, mouths had clamped shut at the mention of the 16th branch. Everyone he spoke to pointed him in the direction of 'Gen' if he wanted to know more. Expecting the worse, Garp tracked down Gen, his two new recruits (minions) trailing behind him.

Gen hadn't been hiding. Sitting casually out in the open, but mistrust clear in his eyes. He'd stared at Garp long and hard before reaching his decision and rising to his feet.

"If you want answers we're going to have to go to Arlong Park. It's not a pretty picture though."

With that, Gen led them out of the village in silence. Fifteen minutes out of town, Garp's nose wrinkled, the smell of decomposing flesh wafting along the breeze. Despite the knowledge of what was to come, Garp didn't increase his pace, continuing to match his guide step for step.

Garp halted when the remnants of what he assumed were once Arlong Park came into view. A small pile of partially burnt carcasses lay out the front of the broken walls. Coby choked, his hand racing up to cover his mouth and nose as his gaze fell to the ground. Helmeppo didn't do much better, his face rapidly paling as he turned away from the sight, the image seared inside his mind.

"I won't go any closer." Gen said as he rubbed at his nose. "No one's interested in getting any closer than this, apart from a few of the island's predator birds."

Garp's head hung down at the thought of the loss of marine lives.

"I wouldn't mourn for them." Gen spoke softly but firmly. His gaze locked on what remained of the marines that had subjected his town and so many others to eight years of hell.

"What are you implying?" Garp growled.

Looking away from the carnage caused by the small band of pirates, Gen turned his attention to the Vice Admiral. "We've lived under Arlong's tyranny for 8 years."

Garp's face darkened at the news. East Blue was his home sea. He did not like the negligence he was hearing of.

"For what little it's worth, I apologise on behalf of the marines, and of myself. I have sailed through these waters in that time and I never thought to check. The marines will be doing so from now on."

Gen tilted his head, accepting the apology as it was, but not willing to let the issue go completely.

"You misunderstand. In the past eight years, the 16th Branch and Captain Nezumi, visited this island at least three times a year. They knew. They did nothing. The pirates that did _this_ saved our lives and our village... and that's all I have to say on the matter. Don't bother asking anyone in town about it either. No one's going to give you names."

Coby and Helmeppo shared a look, their thoughts going to Shell Town, and its own recent release from the failings of a marine captain at the hands of one Monkey D. Luffy. Coby silently prayed that Luffy hadn't been involved in this level of carnage.

Meanwhile, Garp's fists clenched in rage, before falling loose.

"Thank you for the information. I apologise again for the actions of these marines."

He didn't mention that even without names, he'd have to report the fact that there were new pirates loose in East Blue. Rumours had been circling, but the reports were unclear at best, and delusional ramblings at worst. This was definitely not the work of anyone that was known to them. For now though, they weren't his biggest concern.

Focusing on the task before him, Garp could outwardly be confused as calm, but inside he was seething. He hated this type of scum the most. The kind that paraded under the banner of peace and justice, but did nothing more than sit back and watch the world burn – if they weren't the ones lighting fires personally.

"You may head back if you'd like. We'll find our own way back once we're done here." Garp offered to Gen who was waiting for his dismissal.

Pleased that Nezumi's actions would finally be noted –even if it was too late for the Captain to make amends– Gen nodded and turned to head back to the village.

Tucking his hands into his pants, Gen felt the long-time missing feeling of calm wash over him. Finally, they were free. There hadn't been much they could offer their saviours – food, medical attention… it all seemed so insignificant in light of their past suffering. Their silence on the events at Arlong Park was another, if small, means of continuing to thank the Straw Hat Pirates for saving them. For as violent as they were, the Straw Hat Pirates would always be the heroes of Cocoyasi.

* * *

 ** _Until next time!_**


	13. All the Small Things (Blink-182)

**_I am so sorry that this is both short and late. Since the last chapter I have moved interstate, have started uni again, and I am just about to start my graduate thesis (it's also my birthday in two days!). So things have been stupidly busy, but I really wanted to give you guys something._**

* * *

Sanji was aware that he wasn't always the first person up on any given day.

Usually his path crossed with Johnny or Yosaku as they turned in from night watches. The pair often traded the night shifts between themselves, used to such a task when it had just been the two of them. They also seemed to be willing to cover for others when it didn't seem likely that they'd make it through the night on their own (just as they had done for Luffy the night following the destruction of Arlong Park, when their Captain had practically been asleep on her feet).

Some mornings the stupid moss head would already be up training, or occasionally it was their Captain's overly protective first mate relieving the person on night watch and checking on their course.

But on every morning he'd spent with the crew so far, he had always been the first person in the kitchen.

Until today.

"Why are you molesting my cupboards?"

Ace's head thumped against the roof of the bottom cupboard as Sanji's voice startled him. Rubbing his head angrily, Ace sat back of the balls of his feet to address the chef.

"Did you move the tins I had in here?" Ace glowered at Sanji.

"Yes. They were in my way."

Sanji made sure to keep his face cool and collected. As head chef (and only chef at present) he was allowed to rearrange the kitchen as he saw fit. Including the three tins that had Ace's scrawled writing, _'LUFFY'S EMERGENCY STASH DO NOT OPEN',_ all over them. Being the polite gentleman he was, Sanji had fought the temptation to open the tins, but that didn't stop them from relocating them to a cupboard he didn't have a particular use for.

"...Well?" Ace prompted, annoyance clear in his voice, "Where did you move them to?"

Sanji flicked his head towards the top back cupboard. The cupboard on the completely opposite side of the kitchen to where Ace had been searching.

"Top shelf, left hand corner."

Ace shifted to his feet, his under breath grumblings too low for Sanji to make out the actual words. Reaching the cabinet, Ace stretched up on his toes to fish out one of the containers. Prying off the lid Ace set about his task, ignoring the blond chef as he did so.

Sanji leant back against the opposite kitchen bench, silently observing Ace as he navigated what Sanji considered to be _his_ territory on the ship. Most of the crockery and cutlery had remained where it was, allowing Ace to quickly source the biggest mug on the ship, along with an equally enlarged 'teaspoon'.

The door into the kitchen swung open as Nami and Usopp stepped through. The pair discussing something that sounded like Nami's orange trees.

"Good morning Nami-swan! Did you sleep well?!"

Nami rolled her eyes at his exuberance, but he didn't miss the small up-turn of her lips at the attention.

"Yes, thank you Sanji. Did you need any help with breakfast?"

"Ahh! Nami-swan is so thoughtful! I–"

Sanji's proclamations were cut off as Zoro walked through the door, announcing his presences with a call for food, "Oi Chef, where's breakfast?"

Readying himself to launch at the presumption moss head, Sanji was once more distracted as Gin walked into the room, addressing it at large, "Johnny said he wanted to crash for a bit and doesn't want breakfast. Yosaku has night shift tonight so he wants to sleep longer so he's going to skip out as well. They said to wake them up for lunch if they hadn't already surfaced by then."

Tension broken, Sanji nodded in acknowledgement.

Realising that breakfast wasn't going to cook itself, Sanji forced himself to work around Ace, having grown accustomed to having the space to himself whilst he cooked.

Leaning across Ace to grab one of his whisks, Sanji frowned distastefully at the light brown powder that Ace had scooped into the mug. He hadn't realised that Ace had a sweet tooth for poorly made hot chocolates.

Ducking out of his way, Ace headed for the kettle, filling it up and setting it to boil as Sanji got to furiously beating the egg and milk mixture he was preparing for this morning's cinnamon toast.

Luffy was the final person into the kitchen, her usual spring in her step missing as she slumped into a seat at the table, her head dropping to rest against the cool wood, her eyes sliding shut at the sensation.

"Luffy are you alright? Are you sick?" Usopp hurriedly asked his deflated Captain, cutting off his conversation with Nami.

Nami and Zoro's focus centred on the young woman as well, both baffled by her behaviour, particularly so close to meal time.

"M' fine."

The kettle whistled just as Sanji had the first few pieces of cinnamon toast coming out of the pan.

Ace quickly filled the mug with the steaming water, stirring the powder to make sure he didn't leave any lumps. Making his way over to the table, Ace set the mug down in front of Luffy before taking his seat beside her.

"Here you go Lu. Drink up."

Much to Sanji's concern, and to the concern of the other four Straw Hat Pirate's, Luffy didn't immediately begin drinking the scolding hot chocolate like they'd assumed. Instead her fingers crept forward to encircle the mug, simply absorbing the heat as her head remained on the table.

Seemingly anticipating her lack of movement, Ace rest his hand on Luffy's back, rubbing slow circles as he watched her carefully.

Nami's eyes softened as what was happening seemed to click in her head.

Sanji barely heard the first part of Nami's softly spoken words, "That time, huh?" before she continued at her normal volume, "Luffy, do you need any pain medication? I have some in my room. No charge I promise."

Luffy's eyes blinked back open, as she tilted her head towards her navigator.

"No, I'll be okay. I just need to sit."

"If you're sure. Let me know if you change your mind, I also have a heat pack you can use if Ace needs his hand back."

Luffy's eyes sparked with amusement at Nami's joke, giving Luffy the burst of energy she needed to sit upright.

"Thanks, Nami. I'm okay though."

Sanji shared an equally confused look with Usopp, but neither dared comment lest they bring down Luffy's improved mood. Hoping to further improve her mood, Sanji set what was meant to be the communal plate of breakfast in front of Luffy with flourish.

"Here you are Luffy-swan! Enjoy your breakfast!"

"Thanks, Sanji."

Releasing one hand from her mug, Luffy tugged the plate closer, grabbing at her fork to start picking at the stack of toast. Sanji, high on the praise from Luffy, noodle-danced back into the kitchen to prepare a second lot of toast for Nami ...and the rest of them.

* * *

 ** _I hope you enjoyed the little slice of Straw Hat life. At one stage I was thinking of deleting this section of the story altogether, but Luffy being female brings her other challenges that comes with that, and I really wanted to touch on it, if only briefly._**

 _ **As always though, thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/faved/followed SWM, I really appreciate it!**_


End file.
